Mobile County school officials say construction plans at three campuses have been pushed back after a $100 million bond issued in 2012 came up short of covering every project on its list.
Superintendent Martha Peek told the school board the shortfall amounts to roughly $5.1 million. Rather than scale back the scope of the work, the board voted to wait until the 2016 fiscal year, when additional state construction dollars become available and a new capital plan can be drawn up.
The delayed projects include an all-purpose room planned for Indian Springs Elementary’s Eight Mile campus, a new theater building at LeFlore High School, and a full renovation of Mae Eanes Middle School near Dauphin Island Parkway. Peek said all three will be treated as priorities once funding is restored, though she stopped short of promising a specific order.
Peek attributed much of the overrun to unexpected costs elsewhere in the bond program, including relocating the site chosen for the new Citronelle High School, expected to open in the summer of 2016, and additional foundation work required at the Fournier-Chastang K-8 School in Trinity Gardens. Other projects funded through the same 2012 bond included renovations at the historic Barton Academy building.
District 4 school board member Robert Battles Sr., who joined the board about six months ago, said he is hopeful that revenue from selling several surplus properties in midtown Mobile could help close the gap for the two projects located in his district. Those properties include the former Augusta Evans Special School site on Florida Street, the Russell Building on Broad Street, which once held school system offices, and the original Old Shell Road Magnet School building. Battles estimated the sales could bring in close to $3 million, money he hopes will go toward Mae Eanes and LeFlore.
Peek cautioned that none of the properties have sold yet, and the timeline for closing on them remains uncertain. For now, families in the affected attendance zones will have to wait at least until the next school year for construction crews to return.