Citing myriad concerns over current and future funding levels, members of the Limestone County Board of Education on Tuesday voted down a proposal to create the Academic Center for Excellence at Owens Elementary School.

The center, better known as ACE, would have been a second career tech location for the system and would have housed pre-engineering, graphic arts, teaching and learning, IT networking and IT software programs. Owens would have been available for those programs because students will be moving to the new Sugar Creek Elementary School this fall, leaving the old school virtually empty.

Board members expressed a number of concerns about Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk’s proposal for ACE, but funding dominated the lengthy conversation. Board members repeatedly asked Ann Swanner, the school’s finance director, if the money was there to create ACE. She offered assurances, but also revealed the school system recently had to enter into a payment plan with Apple because it wouldn’t be able to pay the full $1.1 million owed as part of the Digital Passport Initiative that provides Macbooks to students.

The bill to Apple would have come due in June, but Swanner said a deal was struck to pay Apple $309,000 each quarter instead. The news the school system couldn’t pay the full amount did not sit well with all board members.

“We just need to fund what we’ve already started,” said Board member Bradley Young. “We can’t rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Board member Earl Glaze agreed with Young’s assessment and added, “That’s what we’re doing, continuously.”

ACE funding proposal

Earlier in the meeting, the board did pass a resolution allowing Sisk to enter into contract negotiations with Connections Education, which operates virtual schools in 28 states. The vote wasn’t unanimous, however, as board member Edward Winter voted against.

Once the deal is finalized, the company would rent office space from Limestone County Schools and would also pay the school system $230,000 up front. If students had been bused from their schools to ACE, the system would have received $44,000, but that money would be paid in arrears and received monthly.

Another added cost for ACE would be the positions of a director and a counselor at a cost of $170,000, which would also be paid by the state monthly.

Another conversation involved whether ACE would have its own school resource officer and if the board would be able to fund it. Glaze said the board told the community the facility would have one.

“I cannot see how we as a board, with Ms. Swanner telling us we can’t make payments (to Apple), how we can continue to take on more debt when we can’t make our payment in June,” he said. “My concern is we can’t pay what we’ve got now.”

Taking into consideration what Connections said it would pay the school system, combined with state funds for busing, Sisk attempted to lessen the concerns of board members. Young, however, had reservations about the school board pinning funding hopes on the Connections program, which is an untested entity.

Another concern hanging over both discussions was the fate of the ongoing civil lawsuit between Limestone County Schools, Athens City Schools, Madison City Schools and Huntsville City Schools over tax dollars. Swanner said $600,000 in Limestone County education funds are tied up in escrow until the lawsuit is resolved.

The school system recently had pull money out of the TVA-in-lieu-of-tax funds it receives to make payroll. Sisk said that was because the state paid school systems late.

Board member Bret McGill said he came to the meeting planning to vote one way, but after hearing from Swanner, said he would vote differently. He expressed embarrassment about voting against the proposal because he believes ACE is a good idea and would have benefited students. He then asked Sisk what “Plan B” would look like.

Sisk told the board whether or not ACE was established at Owens, Connections would still be located there. He explained, however, the school board would continue to pay $52,000 each year to provide electricity, water, heating and cooling to the school.

If the board needed more time to examine the proposal, Sisk said, the school system could look at other means to ease overcrowding at the current Limestone County Career Technical Center on Sanderfer Road.

“The recommendation is there and you need to tell me what direction you want to go,” he said. “I do believe in this plan and I think it’s the right thing to do for the kids.”

In the end, only board member Anthony Hilliard voted to establish ACE.

About Connections

Connections Education is a division of Pearson, which offers global education solutions for K-12 and higher learning. If the board approves the partnership, Limestone would become the first system in the state to partner with Connections Education. It would also provide an open door for the company to offer services to parents and students statewide.

If parents in Fairhope, for example, decided the Connections Education model would be best for their child, those parents would enroll their child in classes through Limestone County Schools. That child would then be counted as part of Limestone County’s student population, which would subsequently increase the system’s funding levels.