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Board reviews three capital-referendum scenarios to meet FEMA timeline
Summary
The Rome City School District board heard a workshop outlining three referendum scenarios — a full $58.9M plan with 20 classrooms and multipurpose space, a mid-sized $31M option, and a lean $25.4M alternative — with presenters warning about building-aid recalculations and a tight FEMA reimbursement timeline.
Board members and district advisers spent the meeting focused on options for a districtwide capital referendum the administration says must be staged to meet FEMA reimbursement rules and a projected December vote window.
Nathan Weave of CNS, the district's construction manager, described three scenarios: a full plan (about $58.9 million) that includes a 20-classroom addition plus a combined gym/cafeteria/auditorium; a mid-sized option (about $31 million) that omits the classroom expansion but adds multipurpose space; and a lean option (about $25.4 million) that minimizes new construction and leaves some work for later. "That's a little bit of a race against time — FEMA requires their funds to be expensed by October 2029," Weave said, noting design, SED review, bidding and construction steps that consume the timeline.
The superintendent framed the workshop as an informational step: no board votes were required that night, but staff requested direction at the next meeting so the administration can finalize package(s) for the October meeting and a potential December ballot. Presenters stressed that different scenarios carry different tradeoffs in local cost, borrowing, and exposure to state recalculations of building-aid units that can affect future maximum cost allowances.
