School board asks Dickson County to explore $30 million borrowing for Charlotte Middle School renovation

Dr. Sullivan, the school board representative, told the Dickson County Commission during its work session that the board has been planning long-range capital projects and now recommends focusing on Charlotte Middle School, which the board says is at maximum occupancy and has aging infrastructure that warrants major renovation or replacement.

The board’s presentation described a combined approach that the transcript characterizes as a $47,000,000 package previously discussed: roughly $30,000,000 of county funding and $17,000,000 from school-dedicated funds. Dr. Sullivan said $2.5 million of that earlier amendment was earmarked for one-time expenses such as buses and textbooks, leaving $17,000,000 in the capital fund for school projects. "So that brings us back to the $47,000,000 resolution that, that was $30,000,000 of the county money and $17,000,000 of the school money," Dr. Sullivan said.

Architect Brad Martin of Lockwood Martin described conceptual plans for Charlotte Middle School, including roughly 72,000 square feet of renovation, about 14,500 square feet of demolition of an older wing, and approximately 24,500 square feet of new construction to add classroom and circulation space while keeping the school operational during work. Martin gave early cost sketches for demolition and finish work and cautioned the figures were preliminary. "Seventy-two thousand square foot of renovation space, 14,500 square foot of demolition space, and approximately 24,500 square foot of new construction," Martin said.

Commission discussion focused on scope, cost estimates, bidding risk and funding strategy. Commissioners asked whether $30,000,000 would be sufficient; school leaders and the architect said the primary budget numbers were "just south of $30,000,000" for the county’s portion but cautioned about contingencies and the potential for higher costs if bidding increased. The chair noted the county can access borrowing capacity and said the next step was to determine feasibility: "I think what we'll eventually get to is we need a motion for to carry this to the regular session in 4 weeks for me to sit down with the bond companies to figure out how much it's gonna cost, to borrow that and come up with the different funding ideas for y'all to approve," the chair said.

Commissioners and school officials discussed alternatives (renovation versus replacement), demolition costs (architect’s preliminary estimate for targeted demolition and closure work), timelines for design and bidding (design months, then bidding with a possible construction start early next year) and whether the existing reserves or bond structures should be used. Multiple commissioners emphasized fiscal caution and requested formal bonding scenarios and conservative contingency planning before any debt authorization.

The work session ended with a motion to advance the matter to the next regular session so county finance staff and bond advisors can present borrowing options and impacts. The commission voted to move the item forward for further review; no final borrowing or bond authorization occurred at this meeting.

Next steps: the commission directed staff to consult with bond companies, refine cost estimates and return a formal borrowing plan and schedule at the regular session for a public vote.