Wayne County, School Board amend $7 million capital grant; Rosewood Middle School allocation unchanged

On March 4, 2025, the Wayne County Board of Commissioners approved a joint resolution with the Wayne County Board of Education to amend the allocation of a $7,000,000 state capital infrastructure grant for Wayne County public school projects.

Angie, county staff, told the board that the original agreement split the $7,000,000 among four projects and that the primary project — Rosewood Middle School — remains funded at $5,325,000. "The main project would be the Rosewood Middle School, which is funded at $5,325,000. That is not changing," Angie said.

Why it matters: the reallocation shifts money away from smaller athletic projects so the concession and restroom facility at Rosewood can be completed. Angie said funds originally set aside for two track resurfacing projects and a concession/restroom project are being redistributed to cover the amount now needed for the concession/restroom facility.

Angie described the original smaller-project allocation as roughly $1.6 million of the $7 million. She said state Representative Veil allocated about $175,000 toward the concession/restroom facility and that a separate request from Representative Bell sought roughly $491,000 for that facility; the remaining funds were to be deducted proportionally from the track projects. Under the proposed reallocation, that leaves roughly $590,000 for the two track projects combined, Angie said. The Wayne County School Board recently approved resurfacing the Southern Lane and Rosewood tracks with asphalt at about $150,000 each.

During discussion a commissioner raised a separate financing point about the overall Rosewood project, saying the county would still need to finance an outstanding balance that the speaker estimated at "about $12.5 million." The speaker did not give a formal source for that number in the meeting record and the board did not adopt a financing plan on the record at this meeting.

The board moved the joint resolution and later approved it as part of its votes. The motion did not include a recorded roll-call tally in the public transcript.

Clarifying details recorded during the discussion: - Total state capital infrastructure grant: $7,000,000 (as stated in the joint resolution language). - Rosewood Middle School allocation: $5,325,000 (Angie, county staff). - Smaller projects originally allocated about $1.6 million of the $7 million (Angie). - Representative Veil allocation toward concession/restroom: about $175,000 (Angie). - Representative Bell requested about $491,000 toward the restroom/concession (Angie referenced a written request). - Proposed residual for two tracks after reallocation: roughly $590,000 combined (Angie). - School Board action: approved resurfacing Southern Lane and Rosewood track with asphalt at approx. $150,000 each (as reported to the commissioners).

The board did not adopt further financing actions or detailed budget resolutions for any long-term borrowing on the record at this meeting. Additional budget or financing steps indicated during discussion — including a commissioner’s reference to an estimated financing need of about $12.5 million — were not approved or quantified in the meeting transcript.

Next steps noted by staff: remaining unobligated funds in the grant pots, if any, could be applied to the Rosewood construction. The facilities committee and the school board will continue coordinating final expenditures and surfacing decisions for the track projects.