Aiken officials to lead analysis of bond

AIKEN - Aiken school officials will decide for themselves how a controversial $36.3 million bond issue will affect the county's school system.

The board has come under fire for footing the bill for public utilities for a private development, and the "tax increment financing" will cost the board tax money while the county repays the bond.

Although the board unanimously voted Tuesday night to do its own analysis of the financing proposal before the county council's next reading Oct. 18, members didn't voice any opposition to the plan.

In fact, board member Larry Murphy boldly declared the proposal "the best project for Aiken County in the 45 years I've been living here."

Under the plan approved by county council members last month, the county will issue bonds over a 10-year period to pay for roads, sewers, water systems and other public utilities for two developments slated for the Graniteville area.

The bonds will be repaid with the tax revenue generated by the 5,000 new homes and businesses at the developments, Trolley Run Station and Sage Creek.

They are being built by the FineDeering Development Group on 2,400 acres of rural land.

Critics of the financing plan say such proposals are meant to improve run-down urban areas, not private developers.

They also say it will force other taxpayers to pay for the added burden on police and fire services and schools while the development's taxes are diverted for the bond repayment.

Dr. John Bradley, the school board's chairman, said a look at the county's pupil population during the past three decades has shown very little increase in the number of pupils, despite a housing boom over the years.

That suggests that the student body will remain stable even with the additional homes, he said.

"I'm not saying that's going to continue," Dr. Bradley said. "That's all we have to look at. None of us are mind readers ... it's a guessing game."

The two Houston businessmen who make up FineDeering, Richard Fine and Robert Deering, attended Tuesday's school board meeting.

Mr. Deering said the families who move into the new homes his company will build will likely come from other parts of Aiken County.

"We do not expect there will be an adverse impact on the Aiken County School District," he told board members.

The financing proposal allows planned growth rather than haphazard development in an area shunned thus far, he said.

Reach Sandi Martin at (803) 648-1395, ext. 111, or sandi.martin@augustachronicle.com.