For some time the Center for Local Innovation has been exploring an array of novel approaches for local government to implement. Many of the innovations are aimed at improving delivery of governmental service and lowering the cost of the service to the taxpayer. Citizens may rest a little easier knowing that my research has uncovered literally hundreds of individual ideas that are taking hold in communities large and small. Even so, the most serious threat to tax stability and the local decision-making process is the continual encumbrance of state and federal government mandates.
While we are all familiar (or should be) with the mess that is Medicaid at the local level, commissioners and school boards statewide will clash heavily as a combination of natural growth and “mandates” by the state that children be in smaller classes will hit us all in the form of higher taxes soon.
In short, every school currently in existence was designed for a specific range of students. Thus a school designed for 800 kids, has “X” number of classrooms, a library, a cafeteria and athletic facilities to handle say, 600 to 900 students.
When the governor creates a law that requires that every classroom have fewer students, the classrooms required for those students don’t magically appear. School boards then must decide to build more schools, expand their current ones, or start buying mobile classrooms in bulk. Building new schools to accommodate this decree is truly a waste of money because the school they are removing students from still has the infrastructure (cafeteria, library, gym) to handle the larger population that is no longer allowed.
Expanding a school is not always an option because land purchased at the time of the original school construction may preclude any type of expansion. Beyond this, there isn’t necessarily a cost advantage to doing this because of the alarming increase in school construction costs whether localities build or expand.
And when discussing mobile classrooms, parents and the press all cringe regardless of the validity. Winston-Salem is to be commended for exploring a “pod” concept in which seven classrooms and restroom facilities are all included. School districts can offer a full curriculum, students don’t have to leave the building to use the restroom, and regulations require only two handicap ramps rather than two per-mobile classroom, which costs thousands per ramp. “Pods” also take up far less room than mobile classrooms and are cheaper than new construction.
This is by no means a magic solution, but it is one that may work elsewhere in the state. The construction of schools is taking a toll on local debt capacities across North Carolina. The Local Government Commission recently told Chatham County officials to trim $80 million from their capital plan because of decreased debt capacity. In various forms, this story is taking place far more frequently. Scotland County may finally top the 1.2 percent rate for property taxes (keeping in place the county’s highest rate in the state ranking).
Some would say I’m being negative, focusing on the problem rather than the solution, but it is my hope that through this process local officials will begin to renew the way in which they look at local educational funding. One Wake County commissioner recently discussed using the schools year-round in a “track” system. The track system would increase use of the buildings by 20 to 30 percent. The system could delay the need for new school construction by years and save tens of millions of taxpayer money.
The point is that we are entering a time that requires innovation and vision. We can no longer afford to fund education locally the way we always have. Educational needs are growing faster than the local ability to pay for it. Without innovative discussion and thought, counties will approach their debt and taxation limits and they will simply look at more creative ways to take money, such as high impact fees. One learns quickly that a wildcat is not likely to appreciate being put in a cage for a trip to a veterinarian. School boards may well see attempts at innovation in the same way.
Adams is vice chairman of the Lee County Board of Commissioners and director of the Center for Local Innovation. Visit www.LocalInnovation.org for more.