Page A-8, The Tuskegee News, July 20, 2000
f i
School Board gets 10-year loan to pay off con
By GUY RHODES
Editor
In order to pay off a $1.213 million loan to
Johnson Control for a contract for fighting, heat-
ing/cooling and other operations in county schools,
the Macon County Board of Education (MCBOE)
recently agreed to convert the loan to be paid back
over a 10-year period.
That action was taken at a recent board meeting
aRer approval was given the local beard by state
education officials because Macon school system is
under state control for its finances.
Approval was given to secure a 10-year loan from
First Tuskegee Bank at an interest rate of $5.5
percent. Payments will be about $30,000 quarter-
ly.
The contract with Johnson Control was signed
by former MCBOE superintendent Dr. James
Patrick and approved by Dr. Becky Lee, who was
then serving as the state-appointed chief financial
officer for the Macon board. Only Dr. Patrick's sig-
nature is not on the contract and there is no record
of official board approval of the contract, although
some beard members remember the matter being
dismtssed by the former superintendent and a go-
ahead given.
Board member Earnest Washington, who was
defeated last month in a bid for reelection to the
board, said he didn't appreciate some comments in
the community during his election campaign indi-
cating he received a financial kickback from
Johnson Control.
"I wasn't involved in any kickback and don't
appreciate some people saying I stole money
through Johnson Control with a kickback,"
Washington stressed.
In other action, the board:
*Was informed that with block scheduling, some
students finish a class such as algebra or biology in
the fall block and not have those subjects in the
spring semester, yet are tested on the material
later in the year. However, adjustments have been
made to allow students who finish those courses in
the fall to take the standardized test in the fall,
immediately after completing the classes.
*Approved providing 20 percent of at-risk pro-
gram funds to the YMCA and Boys and Girls
Clubs as required by law. The funds will be used
by those organizations to help address problems
such as teen pregnancy.
*Approved several personnel actions. They were
accepting the resignation of Khristi Ford Huffas a
first grade teacher Notasulga High School; and the
following appointments: Lena D. Fielder, special
education teacher at Booker T. Washington High
School; Arlene S. Lofton, fifth grade teacher at
Washington Public; Valencia Saffold, second grade
teacher at Tuskegee Public; Demteri Sermons,
French teacher at BTW; and Nichole Tolbert, sec-
ond grade teacher at Tuskegee Public.
• Heard from Board President Alfred
that the board needs to talk to State Sen.
Clay about amending legislation that
Macon system's superintendent to a
$70,000 annually. The boarc
for a superintendent to replace interim
tendent Clima White who has turned
opportunity to be the permanent
Randolph said some potential applicants
superintendents job don't apply because
would have to take pay cuts from their
jobs-some as assistant su
the Macon job.
• Scheduled the next meeting of the board
p.m. Thursday, July 27, at BTW. The
normally the third Thursday of the
was postponed from July 20 to July 27
month.
USDA housing loans require
a little to no down payment
Families and individuals in Bullock,
Chambers, Lee, Macon and Russell counties
have the opportunity to become homeowners
through USDA Rural Development. USDA Rural
Development's Guaranteed Housing Loan
Program is available to help moderate-income
people secure a home mortgage.
USDA's guaranteed housing loans are originat-
ed and processed by approved lenders, such as
banks and mortgage companies. Typically, no
down payment is required and the applicant can
borrow up to 100 percent of the appraised value
of the property.
=To be eligible for a guaranteed loan, the
income for a four-person household cannot
exceed $46,850 in Chambers, Bullock and Macon
counties, and in Russell County cannot exceed
$51,300," said Donald Brooks, Community
Development Manager in Opelika. "Income for a
four-person household in Lee County cannot
exceed $51,050."
Income limits vary from county to county and
are based on the number of people in the house-
hold and the median income for the county.
Additional eligibility requirements include hav-
ing an acceptable credit record and adequate
4ncome to repay the housing loan plus other liv-
ing expenses.
The property to be purchased must be located
in a rural area, which includes all of Bullock and
Macon counties, all of Chambers County except
the Lanett and Valley area, all of Lee County
except the Auburn and Opelika area, and all of
Russell County except the Phenix City area.
The interest rate is negotiated between the
lender and the applicant; however, it cannot
exceed the current Fannie Mae interest rate,
plus 6/10 of 1 percent.
"USDA Rural Development homeownership
programs not only assist homebuyers, but also
contribute to economic growth in rural areas
through businesses in the home building indus-
try such as mortgage companies, Realtors,
homebuilders and many others," said Anne
Payne, State Director of USDA Rural
Development in Alabama. "These programs will
help put the dream of home ownership within
reach of many more rural residents."
The USDA Rural Development office serving
Bullock, Chambers, Lee, Macon and Russell
counties is located in Opelika. For more infor-
mation on USDA's guaranteed housing loan pro-
gram and to obtain a list of approved lenders,
please call the Opelika office at 334-745-7638.
Two from Tuskegee honor students at TSU
Dr. Jack Hawkins Jr., Chancellor of Troy State
University System, announced that 448
~tudnets made the Chancellor's and Provost's
Lists for Spring semester 2000. Full-time
! andergraduate students earning a grade point
average of 4.0 are named to the Chancello'r
List. Students named to the Provost's List
received an average of 3.65 or higher for the
term.
Lakeisha Bozeman of Tuskegee made the
Chancellor's List, while Robin Spratlin, also of
Tuskegee, made the Provost's List.
• ! i i i
Langford,,o. ,e .,, .........
~ouncil seats without opposition.
The same is almost true for the Shorter
Council with the exception of Place 5, which had
been vacant since the death of Clara Woods.
Greg Manning is running for that seat.
Returnees are Franklin Council President Pro
Tern Desiev Howard for Place 1, Betty Jeter for
Place 2, Mark Bailey for Place 3 and Juanita
Magruder for Place 4. Magruder was appointed
by the council two months ago to replace Willie
Chappell after ChappelYs death. Bailey was
appointed a year earlier when Sandor Maloy
was appointed Shorter's police chief and had to
relinquish his council seat.
The story is different in Notasulga where only
two of five current council members are unop-
posed. In District 1, Cecil "Bub" Langford Jr.,
son of the mayor, is running for reelection with-
out opposition. The same is true for District 5
where incumbent Robin Collins is the only qual-
ifier.
Incumbent Tommy Whitman faces opposition
for the District 2 seat from Terry Broach, John
Waldrep and Travis Youngblood. For District 3,
the seat being vacated by Tew, candidates are
Ben Bass, Joe Behler, Brenda Boman and
Tommy Miller. In District 4, Baxter Garner is
being opposed Jerry Beasley Jr., no relation to
the former governor candidate.
Tuskegee qualifying (FromPageA-1)
reelection without opposition
for Place 1, but Willie C.
Anderson and Sheran Smith
also qualified and will be in
that race.
Place 2 on the board will be
between Barry White and
Marvin D. Magruder after
State Rep. Johnny Ford with-
drew from the race Tuesday.
Ford had qualified for Place 2
after a State Attorney
General's opinion said he could
hold two elected positions.
The mayor's race is expected
to be a close one and likely to
have a runoff with so many
candidates challenging
Williams who won election in
1996 over six-term mayor Ford,
who now sits in the state legis-
lature.
Muhammad, Washin ~-n and
Tatum say they faw, a city
manager to run the day-to-day
operation of the city. The pre-
sent council voted to hire a city
manager, but that action was
vetoed by Mayor Williams and
later challenged in court by
Williams. Circuit Judge
Howard Bryan has not ruled on
whether or not the council can
hire a city manager.
Howard, Johnson, Maxwell,
Rev. Michael and both Williams
have indicated they are not in
favor of a city manager.
Mayor Williams currently
serves as superintendent of the
utilities board at an annual
salary of $37,000.
Howard, Tatum, Muhammad
and Washington
would not seek to
superintendent of the
board, a position that
by the board.
The city election is
with a runoff on Sept.
elected will take office
2.
If you can give a deserving child a
through foster care or adoption,
Then please call us at 1-800-926-8887 or
www.familyfinders.org
Family Finders is a collaborative effort
service agencies to find foster and
homes for children in the custody ~
Department of Human Resources and
homes for vulnerable adults.
The Hometown
Under New
JOE BROWN
Assistant General
Manager
iiiii~::
:iii!:
iiiiii:!i:i
ROZELL CHAPELL JR.
General Manager
~iiiiiiiii::
DONNY
Service Mana(
1985 CHEUV BLBZER. ii, j
1999 CHEUY CBUBLIER-" CHOICE OF ....
DOWN
$3,995
....... too.
2000 CHEUV
$5;000
ON
Carl Moore III
Sales
Mark Fulmer
Sales
Bill Davis
Sales
mm=~
