2016 Combined

WEEK OF 9 l1J/jtp

"Barber Hall was built in 1998, and at that time each county agreed to help us repay the loan for that dorm. It was supposed to be a 25 year loan, but we paid It off eight years early. So what has happened is that the counties have continued to give us the millage for Barber Hall, and we have assigned it to the new dorm." · Stewart said that the col lege saved more than $250,000 by paying off the loan early. The college was able to pay off the loan early by using in creases in assessed values in the counties, and the college sometimes paid more than the :minimum payment for the loan. Whatever new revenue was generated by increased as sessed values went directly toward paying back the loan. Stewart said that to com plete all of the school's goals, the business department would need to continue to be creative to fund the projects uSing federal, state and local funding in addition to.tuition revenue. ''.The board estimates the 5-year plan to cost about $16.7, but we don't have that so what the challenge is to identify from tbbse pots of money the wisest use of those funds to accomplish these projects," he said. "But progress is being made is every area of the college, whether that be student serv ices or instruction or athlet iM."

athletics and have been. We believe that's a lot wiser use of funds if we don't borrow money and have to pay inter est. If we borrow fr9m our selves, we're not paying any interest, and we pay it back and move forward to another project." The tennis.courts are ex pected to be completed in February and will be used by the college tennis team for in tercollegiate matches·but will be open to the public as well. The old tennis courts on North Sixth Street will be turned into a parking.lot for the new band hall, which is also a part of the college's 5 year plan. The board also approved a 15-year and 25-year plan, which included even more fa cility upgrades including a new cafeteria and a quad with dormitories. On the south side of the campus, the new $7_2 million women's dorm is making progress in its construction and is expected to .be com pleted by next summer. The dorm, the first one con structed at the.college in 18 years, is being funded with a loan. "Each county has dedi cated millage and an amount to repay the loan for that dorm, so what we'll do is com b.ine some of the reyenue from the students paying to live there along with the county funds that are· set aside for that loan and we'll repay that ·over a 25- to 30- "'"'" nol'1M " ~t"~Slff RSlifl

Build From 1A

ers, a field house and uitits to the soccer field and adding restrooms for the baseball field. . "But it's not just athletics. We're also going to renovate dorms, we're renovating (Eddie M.) Smith Student Union, the administration building, and we're looking at moving all of utilities under ground," Stewart said. "We try to eat the elephant one bite at a time. In the area of athletics, the softball hitting facility was actually a half and-hali project. The athletic department and the softball program raised half of the funds, and the college put in the other half. A lot of times, that's how we try to do proj ects, but we can't always do that." Stewart said the new ten nis courts will be paid with the school's own funds, ex cept for a donation of $7,864.09 from the East Cen tral Tennis Association of De catur. "We are actually very blessed in that we have a very healthy fund balance," he said. "The college has been very efficient, frugal and very wise stewards of taxpayer money, and over the years it has built up a very nice fund balance. We have been using some of that money. We bor row money from ourselves, and we pay ourselves back. rrq,.,, ,..,..." ""'"'l"I ~ nQin ho 11001'1 fnl' APPEARED IN:

CARTHAGINIAN------- NEWTON COUNTY APPEAL ~ ------ SPIRIT OF MORTON ------ - MERIDIAN STAR ______ _ NESHOBA DEMOCRAT ____ SCOTT COUNTY TIMES ____ WINSTON COUNTY JOURNAL --- CLARION-LEDGER - ------- OTHER----------------------------~