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News in brief
Summerfi eld prepares to borrow money for fi rst time
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The Town Council plans to decide March 22 whether to proceed with a $1.8 million loan for construction of the new town hall
by CHRIS BURRITT
Players from the 2019 Pigskin for Hodgkins smile big a er the game. Saturday, March 26 12 pm gates open • 1 pm kick-off
Northwest Guilford High School
R.L. Billings Stadium • 5240 Northwest School Road, Greensboro
SUMMERFIELD – For the first time in Summerfield’s history, the Town Council is preparing to borrow money.
The council instructed finance officer Dee Hall during its March 8 meeting to start preparing paperwork for a 10-year loan of $1.8 million from Pinnacle Financial Partners. The town secured an annual interest rate of 2.25% in an environment where many expenses, including borrowing costs, are rising.
Admission: minimum $1 donation at the gate
“Four years ago, my little sister, Karly, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Thankfully, she won her battle, but Karly’s journey inspired us to fi nd a way to give back to the community and help other families going through the same experience.
“Pigskin for Hodgkins is a charity fl ag football game that features former high school, college, and professional athletes playing alongside other familiar faces to the area. Each team will feature a celebrity coach that fans will be able to take pictures with and get autographs from.
“While football is at the center of what we do, Pigskin For Hodgkins is a family-friendly event that also includes games, prizes, raffl es, and food.
“To date, we have raised over $25,000 for families battling childhood cancer and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma research. We could not have done this without the outpouring of support from our community.”
For more information, you can visit: www.pigskinforhodgkins.org or follow @pigskinforhodgkins on Instagram
The council plans to decide during a budget planning meeting March 22 whether to take on debt for the first time since Summerfield’s incorporation 26 years ago. The loan would help pay for construction of the new town hall. The Finance Committee recommended the borrowing during its meeting last month. If the council 2 MARCH 17 - 30, 2022 The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996 decides to borrow, the state’s Local Government Commission would decide whether to approve the loan. The commission determines whether municipalities across the state can afford to repay debt.
“Summerfield has not had any debt before,” Hall told the council. As of Feb. 28, the town had an unassigned fund balance, or savings, of nearly $5 million, according to the town’s balance sheet.
If Summerfield proceeds with the loan, the town would pay an annual principal of $180,000 for 10 years, according to Hall. It would also pay two interest payments of about $20,000, with the interest declining as the principal goes down.
The new town hall would serve as collateral for the loan, Hall said. There’s no prepayment penalty.
Summerfield would receive a lump-sum payment at the outset of the loan, followed by drawdowns of funds as the town incurs costs for building the town hall.
During its April 12 meeting, the council expects to get final cost estimates for the project from architectural firm Creech & Associates and construction manager Samet Corp. If the council decides to build a new town hall, town staff would bid the project, according to a timeline on the town’s website.
Last November, the council decided to move ahead with plans for the town hall, despite estimated costs exceeding the original $3.5 million budget by about $272,934. Creech and Samet were authorized to proceed with the design of the building and finalize costs. The council also instructed the Finance Committee to evaluate how to pay for the project – cash, borrowing or a combination of both.
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community representative, he said he feels compelled to speak out about what he sees as a disparity in distribution of funds to northwest-area schools.
Before addressing the school board at its March 8 meeting, Foy created a spreadsheet with data from the county’s Expenses Per Pupil report for the 2020 fiscal year (the most recent year data was provided). The spreadsheet lists total per pupil spending per school, sorted by grand total, state funds, federal funds, and local funds.
Based on that information, Foy pointed out to the school board that the northwest feeder elementary schools of Summerfield, Pearce, Colfax, Stokesdale and Oak Ridge are funded on average 23% less per pupil than the county average for elementary schools.
Additionally, he said Northwest and Kernodle middle schools are funded on average 14% less per pupil than the county middle school average, with Northwest Middle being the lowestfunded middle school per pupil in the county. Finally, Northwest High School is funded 23% less per pupil than the county average for high schools.
“NWHS is the lowest funded school per pupil in the county – and it’s not even close,” Foy said, noting that if GCS continues this trend it “will inevitably yield a reduction in desired student outcomes.”
Private individuals and organizations in the northwest school district have resorted to raising capital to address serious aging school infrastructure concerns such as mold remediation and inadequate plumbing in the mobile learning units at NWHS, Foy noted. Meanwhile, he said GCS has continuously asked the county for larger and larger sums of money.
“That’s money that comes from taxpayers in the northwest part of our county,” he said. “I perceive that we aren’t getting reasonable returns on our tax dollars given the disparity in funding allocated to northwest area schools compared to their peer county schools.”
Following the period for public comments, GCS Superintendent Sharon Contreras, in an apparent direct response to Foy’s remarks, said that “so much information goes out to the public,” and “the board is not allocating the northwest schools with less money than the other schools.” She said the discrepancy Foy alluded to was because of Title 1 funding to schools in low-income areas. “Exceptional children” (those with disabilities) and English-language learners also receive additional funds, Contreras noted.
The superintendent went on to say that zip codes 27408, 27310, 27358, 27455 and 27235 are among the Top 10 wealthiest zip codes in the Piedmont Triad area, and she indicated all five are in northwest Guilford County.
In an interview earlier this week, Foy said he disagrees with all of Contreras’ comments.
“First, she implied I was spreading misinformation,” he said. “I find that comment ironic when the information I shared were figures extracted from a report issued by GCS.
“Second, she stated I was just looking at Title 1 funding,” he continued. “That’s false. I was looking at all sources of funding. If you remove Title 1 funding (federal funding) from the equation, that doesn’t change the fact that all northwest-area schools are drastically underfunded when compared to the county average per pupil.
“Third, she said that northwest-area schools were not being allocated less money than other schools in the county,” Foy said. “Then she gave the floor to her CFO, who in essence contradicted the superintendent’s statement by saying that GCS does weigh school allotment formulas differently… If GCS doesn’t like what their self-reported data illustrates, a better path forward would be to acknowledge it and formulate a plan to address it. To imply that I was spreading misinformation by speaking and sharing my concerns regarding their published data is garbage.”
Northwest High School PTSO President Melissa Stallings said she was “floored” by Contreras’ remarks at the school board meeting.
“Sadly, her rebuttal does not surprise me,” Stallings said. “Instead of saying, ‘we would like to look at your data,’ her immediate answer was, ‘you live in the wealthiest area.’ What does that have to do with anything?”
The Northwest Observer • Totally local since 1996 When asked about some of the critical ...continued on p. 5 MARCH 17 - 30, 2022 3
STOKESDALE Fire Department
8401 U.S. Highway 158 ANNUAL BBQ SALE! ** DRIVE-THRU / TAKEOUT ONLY** SATURDAY, March 26 11 AM – 2 PM (unless sold out) $8 per POUND $2 per 6-oz container of SLAW SORRY, NO PRE-ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN
Please follow map below for take-out route
