FTCC explains need for $62 million package

Officials at Forsyth Technical Community College are defending their request for a $62 million bond package, saying that the money will help those who are most affected by the economic downturn.

The bond request is on the Nov. 4 ballot.

If it is approved, Forsyth Tech will spend $21 million to renovate the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system's administrative offices and the space now used for the Career Center. The new space would be used for classrooms and labs, college officials said.

The college would also spend $2.6 million to tear down old buildings near campus.

The school system would spend $38.6 million of the bond money to build a new Career Center and move its offices.

Recently, the bond package has become a key issue in the race for the 74th District seat in the N.C. House.

The incumbent, Rep. Dale Folwell, a Republican, opposes the bond package and is pushing for its defeat. His opponent, Wade Boyles, a Democrat, supports the package.

Forsyth Tech officials have set up a Web site -- www.bondreferendum.com -- to explain what the bond money will be used for. They are also giving out pamphlets and have put up signs around the city and near polling places.

"Our role has been to try to get accurate information in the hands of the voters about what the bond referendum is going to mean -- to provide access and opportunity for people to come to community college," said Gary Green, Forsyth Tech's president.

"We're making the point that it's in the most difficult economic times as these that more people need the community college," Green said.

Folwell says that the bond package comes at the wrong time.

"The reason that we're in the financial condition we're in, at the local level, the state level and the federal level, is that people haven't been asking any questions and the more questions we ask about this transaction, the worse it looks," he said.

Folwell says that voters have already invested in the college with some of the money from the $25 million construction bond package passed in 2006.

Some money from the package was used to build a $22 million campus near King.

The school also used money from the bond package to buy and renovate the Pinebrook Shopping Center off Germanton Road for an automotive-technology program. The total cost of that project will be $16 million, and the center will open next year.

Folwell also says he thinks that illegal immigrants represent a large percentage of the recent growth at Forsyth Tech, he said.

"Not every ESL student is here illegally, but there is a strong correlation between the two," he said.

Green said earlier this year that he knew of four illegal immigrants enrolled in college-credit courses at Forsyth Tech.

Folwell also opposes the bond because it could raise taxes, he said.

If Forsyth County voters approve the bond request, it could add 1.25 cents to the existing property-tax rate of 69.6 cents for every $100 of assessed property value.

It could mean a tax-bill increase of about $19 for the owner of a $150,000 house, county officials have said.

Boyles called the bond package an investment in the community's future.

"I realize that our economy is suffering but this is the very time that we need to be investing in our community college, and the reason I say that is because when our kids graduate from high school, the overwhelming majority of them go to the community college and then move on," Boyles said. "That's where so many people in our area receive their training for jobs in the community."

Boyles said that not supporting the bond could mean an economic decline in the future.

"The bond is only going to better the economy in the long run," he said.

Green said that Forsyth Tech has had to reduce spending because of the economy.

The bond would allow the college to continue to grow and provide educational opportunities for the community.

"We're dealing with our part of the financial situation that our community and state are in, and I think we're doing it well," he said.

The college has given 2 percent of its budget back to the state.

The college's officials are expecting another 1 percent reversion any day, he said, and the budget was already 4.5 percent short because of an enrollment increase.

Community colleges are financed based on enrollment numbers for the previous year. The college had a 9 percent increase in enrollment this fall, which is about 800 more students, Green said.

"Like everyone else right now, Forsyth Tech is tightening our belt," he said.

"We've been able to handle without affecting students," he said. "We are asking for this investment."

■ Lisa Boone-Wood can be reached at 727-7232 or at lboone-wood@wsjournal.com.