Op City Schools seeks county assurance on sales-tax continuation for bond; county attorney to review

Representatives of Op City Schools asked the Covington County Commission on June 10 to consider a resolution or memorandum committing a continuation of the county sales-tax distribution to schools while the district seeks bond financing for building repairs and upgrades.

An acting superintendent representing the school system said the district plans to go to market for bonds and wants assurance that the existing county sales-tax distribution used to support schools would continue; he said the district has accrued roughly half of the needed local contribution and plans to use bond proceeds to fund projects and consolidate existing debt.

County Attorney Morgan told commissioners the school board's attorney has proposed a resolution and that she (Morgan) has not yet reviewed the document. Morgan said the legal question for the commission is whether the levying and rescinding of the tax is exclusively the commission's prerogative and that a formal commitment would be binding for whatever period the district requests. She agreed to review the proposed resolution and report back.

Commissioners asked for a prompt review because the district planned preliminary bond-market activity later in June. The acting superintendent said the bond team will go to market on June 23 and has a meeting with the bond company on June 13; he requested that the county provide a prompt "nod of the head" or formal review so the school can proceed with its financing timeline.

No formal vote was taken. Morgan will review the proposed resolution and the commission requested an update at the next workshop.