TITLE
Title
GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS (GCS) CAPITAL PROJECT AMENDMENTS
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Dr. Whitley Oakley, GCS Superintendent
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BACKGROUND
Background
Guilford County voters have approved a total of $2.0 billion in school bond referendums to address school capital needs identified through a comprehensive facilities master plan jointly developed by the Guilford County Board of Education and Guilford County Board of Commissioners. The initial funding plan for the school capital program called for the $2 billion to divided into five separate sales of $120 million to $570 million, based on the progression of construction and when funds were needed to pay expenses. Splitting the $2 billion into several sales allows the county to closely align when it borrows funds with when the school system spends the funds, which means the public avoids paying interest on borrowed funds that are not needed in the short-term to pay expenses. This is important because it keeps the funding plan in balance with the model approved by the Board of Commissioners and provides budgetary predictability and stability for school capital needs.
Since approval of the bond referendum, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners approved $630,487,181 in project ordinances.
- April 2021 - $300,000,000 (2021-191)
- January 2023 - $174,646,154 (2023-151)
- April 2023 - $48,233,232 (2023-238 & 2023-274)
- February 2024 - $35,870,365 (2024-172)
- June 2024 - $10,000,000 (2024-172)
- July 2024 - $8,500,000 (2024-346)
- August 2024 - $3,237,430 (2024-378)
- November 2024 - $50,000,000 (2024-463)
On May 13, 2025, the Guilford County Schools Board of Education (BOE) approved the realignment of three projects totaling $48 million and previously adopted January 5, 2023: Safety and Security Enhancements $20 million, Deferred Maintenance $20 million, Technology Upgrades $8 million. The realignment of these projects is needed to correspond with the change made at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year to increase awareness of improvements by school and an update the categorization of deferred capital replacement projects. The previous three broad categories-Safe Schools Upgrades, Building and Site Improvements, and Technology Modernizations-were replaced with a new classification system based on specific schools and project types. As part of this transition, the initial $48 million funding request authorized must be realigned to reflect the updated categorization. The realignment amounts and project ordinance budgets requested by the Board of Education are included in the attached file provided by Guilford County Schools. This realignment does not change the $48 million total.
In addition to the realignment of the above projects, the BOA approved an increase to the below project ordinances at their June 10, 2025 meeting. The original project ordinances included funding through the end of the design phase for each project. The increases to the project ordinances are requested to fund early release work guaranteed maximum prices (GMPs), which include hazard materials abatement, demolition, sitework and utility infrastructure, pre-purchase of long lead materials, and equipment for each project.
1) Allen Jay Elementary: current project ordinance: $7,207,070 ; ordinance increase $2,210,543; revised project ordinance $9,417,613
2) Erwin Montessori: current project ordinance: $8,372,058; ordinance increase $3,183,556; revised project ordinance $11,555,614
3) Lindley Elementary: current project ordinance: $7,500,000; ordinance increase $3,138,255; revised project ordinance $10,638,255
4) Sternberger Elementary: current project ordinance: $6,318,849; ordinance increase $4,168,914; revised project ordinance $10,487,763
5) Sumner Elementary: current project ordinance: $6,500,000; ordinance increase $3,570,298; revised project ordinance $10,070,298
6) Swann 6-12 Visual and Performing Arts: current project ordinance: $7,000,000; ordinance increase $2,723,330; revised project ordinance $9,723,330
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
Amend and/or adopt the projects in the attached memo.
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Authorize staff to take any and all necessary actions to amend project ordinances associated with the $48 million readjustment or adopt necessary project ordinances; and approve associated budget amendments for the six (6) identified projects with guaranteed maximum prices.
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