Ozark gets funding to build new high school

OZARK – Persistence and plans drawn up before a failed ad valorem tax referendum to fund a new high school have qualified Ozark schools for more than $22 million to build the school, officials said on Tuesday.

Ozark City Schools Superintendent Mike Lenhart is expected to announce at 1 p.m. Wednesday the district's receipt of a Qualified School Construction Bond totaling $22,074,000, which the system plans to put toward building a high school within the next several months.

Lenhart said the money can be used within 30 days and involves some of the same plans as the initial project last spring.

Plans are still to build the school at the current CHS site, but Lenhart said some engineering studies have to take place beforehand.

The current high school is expected to be demolished after the new one is built.

Schools Chief Financial Officer Vivian Miller said the qualified bond will be paid over 15 years at less than a half-percent interest rate through a half-cent sales tax from the city, seven mills the system receives, and its capital outlay money.

Had the referendum passed, the school was to be built within four years with bond money and an additional 10 mills in property taxes.

Lenhart said the system pursued the bond before the referendum but needed to meet more requirements.

Those stipulations were met when the $118,000 spent with an architectural firm before the referendum made the high school construction a "shovel-ready project."

An increase in the number of free and reduced lunch students in the city, up from 58 percent to 61 percent, also allowed the system to qualify for the bond.

In addition to building a high school, Lenhart said the qualified bond allows the system to look for more money to potentially build more schools.

"We determined we were going to find a way to get a high school built for this city. We went after the money and we found it, and we won't stop here. The $22 million may not cover all the schools but it does allow us to go and look for more grants," Lenhart said.

"The story here is yes, we're building a new high school, but the story is also one of persistence of a powerful leadership team that includes our chief financial officer and associate and assistant superintendents Rick McInturf and Dianne Holman."

Lenhart said the bond came to the schools as part of a federal program that was created by the economic stimulus law passed by Congress last year.

A total of $236 million was announced last year to go to Alabama's schools, according to Gov. Bob Riley's press office. A total of 16 schools in Alabama received funding.

Ozark received more money than all districts except Madison Schools, which received $36 million.

Lenhart said it may be March before ground is broken for the new high school.

"We want to build a high quality school that 50 years later will need to be renovated, not torn down," he said.