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| For Release: IMMEDIATE | Contact: Public Affairs |
| Date: December 15, 2000 |
State Board of Community Colleges Finance Committee considers plans for bond money distribution
RALEIGH:
The Finance Committee of the State Board of Community Colleges has a $600 million management project on its hands. Today, the group took a first step toward creating the process to manage that task.The $3.1 billion dollar bond referendum for higher education approved by the voters of North Carolina included $600 million for new construction and repair and renovation projects on the 59 campuses of the North Carolina Community College System. The money will be provided to the North Carolina Community College System over six years. "Our mandate is to ensure that approved projects don’t exceed available funds," Vice President for Business and Finance Kennon Briggs told the committee today. The panel will have to determine if the colleges have projects that will require more bond funds than will be available through the staggered bond sales.
In preparation for determining a method for distributing the money to the colleges, all community college presidents were surveyed by the System Office to determine their specific bond projects and land acquisitions planned for their campuses. They were asked to provide the priority, project site, the total cost the source of funds and anticipated starting date. That massive amount of information was combined into an 84-page document listing 424 separate projects. "This is the big baby right here," Briggs told the panel.
Several options were discussed, but the panel agreed there was still not enough information available from the colleges to enable them to make an informed decision at the present time. But, several other decisions were made. 1) The colleges will be asked for additional information regarding their projects. 2) No decisions on project dollar disbursements will be made until the System Office can prepare a better cash flow model after receiving the additional information from the colleges. 3) An information session on the bonds projects will be held for the entire State Board after the committees meet on January 18. 4) Larger colleges with local resources will be approached to determine if the colleges could use local dollars first and thereby defer their state funds requests.
The State Board will make no decision on funds distributions any earlier than February. Herb Watkins summed up the sentiments of his fellow Finance Committee members. "We want to demonstrate to the voters that the bond money advances the colleges," he said. "We want to provide good stewardship in tracking the dollars."
The State Board of Community Colleges next meets on January 18 and 19.
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