Vol. 140
No. 17
24 Pages
2 Sections
Wednesday
rpj WEDNESt
I V\p JUNE 15,2016
Commerce News
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Commerce native
scores an Emmy
Commerce native
Laura Sanders Boles won
an Emmy Award Satur
day for her work with a
South Carolina TV sta
tion. See Page 3A.
Police to
hold forum
on June 28
The Commerce Police
Department will hold a
public forum at 6:30 p.m.
on Tuesday, June 28, at the
Commerce Police Depart
ment.
Command staff from the
department will present a
program on “police use of
force,” that is designed to
help the public better under
stand why and how police
officers in Commerce use
force.
“We will discuss the per
tinent laws and policies that
officers operate in compli
ance with,” explained Lt. Ken
Harmon. “We will also dis
cuss how incidents of force
are investigated and how the
police department insures
compliance with applicable
laws and policies. We wel
come any community mem
ber that would like to hear
about this topic or to spend
some time with officers and
Command Staff of the Com
merce Police Department.”
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INDEX
Church News 7B
Classified Ads 8-9B
Crime News 6-8A
Obituaries 6B
Opinion 4A
School 4-5BSports
1-3BJ0B &12B
Social News...9-1OA
MAILING LABEL BELOW
Tentative school budget up,
but no tax hike anticipated
The Commerce Board of Education got its first
look at the $13.18 million tentative budget for the
2016-17 school year Monday night. The budget will
require the system to dip into its reserves to the tune
of about $85,000.
The board hopes to approve the spending plan at
its July 11 meeting at 6 p.m.
The spending plan anticipates receiving $3.05 mil
lion in local taxes for maintenance and operations,
an increase of $35,000 over the current budget—but
there is no expectation of a property tax increase.
Finance director Ann Stokey went over the budget
highlights.
“The big factor is we’re adding back the days (to
the school calendar), adding a full-time principal at
the elementary school, doing the ABM program (see
separate story),” she said. “So far, state health has
not said it’s going up on classified people, but I know
that’s coming in somewhere.”
Total revenue, including local, state and federal
funds, is $13.09 million.
The budget includes almost $9.4 million in instruc
tional costs, which includes salaries and benefits
for teachers and paraprofessionals, equipment and
software, a figure Stokey pointed out is higher than
last year because of moving from a 184-day calendar
to the full 190day schedule.
That change also affected the line items for stu
dent transportation, general administration and
school administration.
Maintenance and operation costs are going up as
the school system contemplates buying a new bus.
The system’s fleet has buses ranging from 11 to 21
years old.
The system is also on the lookout for good used
buses.
“We’re at the point where someone’s used
buses are better than our newest bus,” advised
superintendent Joy Tolbert.
The tentative budget projects $1,440,177 in debt
service. That includes payments on the system’s
2007 and 2009 bond issues via property tax and edu
cation local option sales tax revenue, plus its lease
payment to ABM Building Solutions for the energy
efficiency program it is undertaking.
Healthy Fund Balance
The board anticipates ending this school year on
June 30 with $2.23 million in reserves, which pro
vides some comfort level for using a small amount
of reserves to balance the FY17 budget.
Other Business
Also on Monday night, the school board:
•approved its CTAE local plan for next year,
which allows it to access $9,690 in federal funds to
go with $340,750 in local funds
See “Budget” on Page 3A
Looking for an opening
Chloe Dean looks for an opening — or someone to pass the ball
to — during the Commerce High School Lady Tigers’ skills camp last
Wednesday. Hosted by the CHS girls’ basketball team and coaches, the
camp aimed to teach the fundamentals of basketball to aspiring players.
For more photos, see Page 10B. Photo by Cameron Whitlock
Jackson BOE looks at
options for realigning
elementary school zones
Closing Benton
Elementary School
still on the table
In two meeting over the last week, the
Jackson County Board of Education took
some major steps toward dealing with the
tangled knot of its school facility needs,
including giving the green light to begin the
process for building a new Braselton area
high school.
While nothing is yet set in stone pending
additional financial data, the BOE looks
poised to move forward with the following:
• redistricting the system’s elementary
schools by closing Benton Elementary and
absorbing those students into other nearby
schools starting in the 2017-2018 school year.
No official action has been taken yet, but the
BOE reviewed two plans at last Thursday’s
board meeting.
•building the core facilities for a new
high school on property the system owns
on Hwy. 332. That would include a two-sto-
ry basic high school with plans to expand
in the future. The school would probably
open with grades 8-12 to give relief to over
crowding at West Jackson Middle School.
Cost of the project would likely be $26435
million. At Monday night’s BOE meeting,
the board authorized superintendent April
Howard to proceed with plans for the high
school project.
• putting on hold plans to use the former
West Jackson Primary School site as a mid
dle school. The system will likely maintain
part of the existing facility and hold onto the
property for now.
At Monday’s meeting, the board heard
from two people who opposed closing BES.
BOE chairman Michael Cronic said in
response that, “It’s not easy to sit here and
close a school.”
See “School options” on Page 3A
City school board
agrees to energy
savings proposal
After over a year of discussion, negotiating and planning,
the Commerce Board of Education voted Monday night to
enter a 15-year contract with ABM Building Solutions that will
feature energy savings and major building improvements.
The $7.8 million contract will be largely self-funded
through energy savings as ABM upgrades lighting, control
systems and water management throughout the schools
and replaces roofs and HVAC systems on the two oldest
buildings.
The plan calls for ABM to improve the efficiency of all
four school building “envelopes,” replace the lighting at
every school with more efficient bulbs and fixtures, put new
controls on HVAC systems in all four schools and perform
preventative maintenance on the HVAC systems at each
school.
In addition, the primary and elementary schools will get
new HVAC systems, new roofs and more efficient plumbing
fixtures. The elementary, primary and middle schools will
get new water fountains.
During the course of the lease, ABM will guarantee $5.49
See “Energy” on Page 3A
Free concert in
new parking lot
set for Saturday
Local music lovers are invited to gather in Commerce’s
new parking lot Saturday night for the first concert of the
Concerts on Cherry series, offered this summer by the
Downtown Development Authority.
The Eli Carlan Band will perform from 7:30 to 10, in the
brand new parking lot located off Cherry Street across Syca
more Street from City Hall. The concert is free.
“It’ll be ready for this weekend,” advised DDA executive
director/Main Street manager Natalie Thomas on Monday.
The parking lot will provide parking for 23 vehicles. It also
has a patio designed to encourage outdoor dining and is
located behind two restaurants that front on South Broad
Street — The Commerce Sports Bar & Grill and El Parian
Mexican Restaurant. The DDA envisions the parking lot as a
venue for small concerts and other events.
Eventually, the patio area will contain chairs and tables, but
for Saturday night, patrons should bring their own chairs or
blankets. And while the DDA hopes the two restaurants will
eventually be able to serve beer and wine at the concerts,
that is not the case this week.
“It is an alcohol-free and tobacco-free event,” Thomas
said.
Thomas said the DDA has booked Brandon Whitley and
the Plain Janes, a Winder area band, for the second concert,
set for Saturday, July 16.
“We hope people will come out and support it,” said
Thomas of the Saturday concert. “It’s something to do on a
Saturday night.”
Movies Ahead
Meanwhile, the DDA plans to start a month
ly “family movie night,” featuring free mov
ies shown in the Commerce Cultural Center.
“This will replace the Movies in the Park,” Thomas said,
pointing out that the cultural center offers the summer advan
tage of air conditioning.
Justin Strickland, who manages the cultural center, has
installed the screen. The projector is on order.
“The screen is big and it looks good,” Thomas assured.
Concessions will be available. The movie nights will also
be alcohol-free and tobacco-free.
