DeKalb commissioners weigh funding for Smith Elementary amid deferred-maintenance concerns

A DeKalb County staff member presented funding for the construction of a new Smith Elementary School and a motion to accept that funding was made by Commissioner Myron and seconded by Commissioner Larry Green, the meeting transcript shows.

The discussion centered on the county commission’s fiscal responsibility and concerns about deferred maintenance at existing schools. “I exercise my fiduciary responsibility as a member of this commission to say that I do not think this plan is in the best interest of the county,” a DeKalb County commissioner said, arguing the commission must determine whether funds will be spent in the county’s best interest.

The commissioner accused the school board of delaying repairs at Smithville Elementary and elsewhere. He said the county could have built the new school “in 15 years and at a lower cost” if the school board had provided $2,000,000 about 18 months earlier. He also criticized so-called open-concept classrooms, saying, “Open concept learning was BS 50 years ago, and it’s BS today,” and asked, “Why do we have classrooms with no walls?”

The commissioner framed the Smith Elementary proposal as part of a broader pattern of short-term, low-cost fixes across county infrastructure, citing past underinvestment in the courthouse, jail, community centers, roads, fire department and EMS. He warned that, if the new elementary is funded now, the county’s high school and middle school — which he said will be about 90 and 80 years old, respectively, before the new school is paid for — will still require significant planning and funding.

The transcript records the motion and a second and the subsequent discussion, but a roll-call vote or final outcome is not included in the available text. The recorded remarks do not show any formal direction for follow-up reporting or staff assignments; commissioners debated fiscal priorities and the timing of repairs versus new construction.