Not all the bond money the school systems are asking voters to approve October 11 will be used to build or renovate buildings or to buy land. Millions of dollars will be spent on architect and legal fees and “administrative” costs.

The information in the table at the right was compiled from the official forms the school systems and community college filed with the Local Government Commission, a branch of the state Treasurer’s office. The totals include money from both the general obligation bond to be voted on October 11 and the COPS bonds the county commissioners plan to approve without a vote of the people.

The Iredell-Statesville Schools estimate their construction and land purchase costs at less than 80 per cent of their total request. By contrast, the Mooresville Graded School District and Mitchell Community College each estimate they will use over 90 per cent of their money for land and buildings.

The Iredell-Statesville system lists over $8.6 million for administrative and “Misc. & FFE, Survey” costs. Mooresville and Mitchell do not report any spending for these purposes. ISS also allocates a larger percentage of total spending to architect fees and contingency than do Mitchell and Mooresville.