Board rejects school request for $532,239 reappropriation; approves $6 million for HVAC and renovation projects
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Summary
After a long debate about carryforward funds, reserve policy and self-insurance solvency, the Henry County Board voted down a school request to reappropriate $532,239 for generators (motion failed) but later approved a separate $6 million appropriation for school HVAC and renovations funded by the 1% sales tax fund and a School Construction Assistance Program grant.
The Henry County Board of Supervisors on March 24 declined a school division request to reappropriate $532,239 in unexpended fiscal 2025 local school funds for generator installations at three elementary schools, and later approved a separate $6 million package for HVAC and renovation projects funded by local 1% sales-tax proceeds and a state School Construction Assistance Program (SCAP) grant.
School Superintendent Dr. Amy Blake Lewis told the board the $532,239 were carryover local funds intended for capital projects (generators at Axon, Mount Olivet and Drew Mason elementaries) and that the request "exceeds what the county provided above required local share" but represented fiscal stewardship. She said the carryforward funds are not new revenues but savings the school division preserved for facility needs.
Board members debated the request at length. Questions focused on whether the county had an existing memorandum of understanding for how unexpended school funds would be split between the county and schools, the solvency of the county self-insurance health fund (staff projected multi-year losses absent changes), and whether accepting the reappropriation would set budgetary precedents.
A motion to approve the $532,239 reappropriation was made and seconded; the clerk recorded the motion as failing (vote recorded: 2 in favor, 4 opposed, 1 abstention). Several supervisors said they wanted to see the county budget and state budget outcomes before committing carryforward funds.
Separately, during the evening session the board approved an additional appropriation of $4.2 million from the 1% sales tax fund and $1.8 million from a School Construction Assistance Program grant to fund HVAC upgrades and related renovation work at multiple schools; that appropriation passed 6-0.
What this means: the school division will not receive the requested $532,239 reappropriation at this meeting; the board retains the ability to reintroduce motions to appropriate unallocated fund balances in subsequent meetings. The approved $6 million appropriation for HVAC and renovation will move forward under the 1% sales tax / SCAP funding described at the public hearing.
