What you should know about the 2008 school bond:

Opportunity

• On May 6, Guilford County residents will have a chance to vote on $457 million in school bonds targeted toward constructing new schools, conducting renovations and additions and building new facilities for special needs students.

The Need

• Guilford County Schools (GCS) currently has more than 600 mobile classrooms to compensate for more than 9,000 students who have entered the district since 2000. This is the equivalent of 14 elementary schools.
  
• More than two-thirds of the county’s schools are more than 30 years old and many of them are in need of major renovations.

Overcrowding

• GCS is the third largest school district in North Carolina with more than 71,000 students at 120 schools.
  
• Historically, the district has added between 1,200 and 1,500 students on average each year.  That’s equivalent to one new high school every year.
• The district is expected to add more than 7,400 students by 2017-18, or an average of almost 700 students per year.

Recommended Projects

• $203 million to construct new schools. This includes two elementary schools, two high schools, one middle school and land for an additional middle school.
  
• $220 million in renovation and addition projects, including heating and air conditioning renovations at 21 schools, major renovations and additions at 13 schools and improvements to athletic facilities at nine schools.
• $34 million for four new facilities for special needs students.
  

The Cost

• In the year 2012 (when the maximum property tax impact will likely occur), Guilford County officials estimate that the school bonds will increase the property tax rate by approximately 8 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.