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Prattville superintendent asks council for quick decision on a $150 million high school plan with college partnership
Summary
Superintendent Lyman Woodley asked the Prattville City Council to consider entering a funding agreement to partner with Central Alabama College on a new high school, warning that bonds alone will not cover the estimated $150 million construction cost and asking for a decision within about 60 days.
Superintendent Lyman Woodley told the Prattville City Council the school system is at a crossroads and urged the city to decide within about 60 days whether it would enter a funding agreement to help build a new Prattville high school in partnership with Central Alabama College (CAC).
Woodley said the school system has stabilized its finances but faces aging buildings and skyrocketing construction costs that make renovation impractical in many cases. "A new Prattville high school will be around $150,000,000," he said, later listing rough estimates for other projects: a junior high at $46 million to $52 million, elementary schools at $50 million to $60 million, and a Marbury middle school at $15 million to $25 million. He told the council the board currently qualifies for roughly $30 million to $50 million in bonds under present rules.
The superintendent said the proposed CAC partnership would expand workforce and dual-enrollment opportunities, create a military-preparedness wing with cybersecurity and ROTC classes, and permit shared facilities and instructors to increase class offerings. "This plan allows CAC and us to share staff. That changes the game in what they can offer and what we can offer," Woodley said.
Councilors pressed Woodley on alternatives, including doing nothing, the board proceeding alone with available loans, or creating a separate city school system. Councilor Newman said a city school system was a "generational decision" that could allow Prattville to capture more local tax revenue; Woodley replied he was not necessarily in favor but that such a move would materially affect any funding agreement and therefore needed to be decided before a long-term commitment.
Woodley outlined potential annual debt-service scenarios: if the city and county combined to cover the bond obligations, the city and county contribution could be about $5 million to $6 million per year, with the board contributing about $2 million to $3 million annually over a 30-year bond, depending on grants awarded. He stressed that grants would reduce bond needs but that worst-case scenarios would require the city or commission to take on substantial loan payments.
The council did not vote on funding tonight; members asked staff to return information and suggested a 60-day window for the council to gather constituent feedback and determine whether to pursue a funding agreement or another option. The superintendent said the board would still need to vote to approve any agreement before it became effective.
Next steps: council members asked staff to provide additional financial modeling and to discuss the funding-agreement option with county partners and the school board; the council set no formal deadline beyond Woodley's 60-day request.
