HAMLET — Richmond Community College — along with other community colleges and universities in the state — has financially contributed to an effort to pass a $2 billion bond referendum, according to a disclosure report filed with the state board of elections Monday.
The report shows that RCC gave $7,220 in “special funds” to the Connect N.C. Committee on Dec. 28.
College President Dr. Dale McInnis said the “special funds” came from soft drink and snack vending machines on campus.
“That’s the only unrestricted money we have available,” he said.
All but one community college — Tri-County Community College in Murphy — or its foundation is shown as donating to the committee. Both Halifax and Western Piedmont community colleges and their foundations gave to the cause, as well as the foundation for the Polk County Campus of Isothermal Community College.
The North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation also contributed $40,000.
Eleven out of 17 of the colleges in the University of North Carolina system are also listed as contributors, with East Carolina University and the foundations of N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University and UNC-Charlotte giving $90,000 each. UNC-Pembroke gave $23,000.
Aside from college contributions, other donors to the bond committee included individuals, most of who gave from $100 to $5,000. James H. Goodnight, CEO of the SAS Institute in Cary, donated $150,000.
There is also a list of contractors and utility companies that contributed thousands of dollars each.
“That entire campaign is being bankrolled by bond beneficiaries,” Nicole Revels told the Daily Journal earlier this week.
Revels, a conservative activist, has been spearheading the opposition with “NC Against the Bond,” crisscrossing the state attending county commissioner meetings, appearing on television and even participating in a Moore County debate regarding the bond issue.
The frequency of $10,000 donations from architectural and engineering firms lends to the appearance that the price for contractor bid submission for the projects has already been set,” she said. “This is blatant pay-to-play in action.”
The disclosure report shows the Connect N.C. Committee has received a total of $1,961,069.72 in contributions and spent $1,623,205.30. A large chunk of the disbursements went toward consulting fees and advertising.
If North Carolina voters approve the bond issue in Tuesday’s primary, the University of North Carolina System will receive the bulk of the funding — $980 million, which accounts for 49 percent of the entire package — for new buildings, mostly in the science and engineering fields.
The state’s community colleges will receive the second-largest piece of the bond package pie, $350 million. Like RCC, the community colleges will use the money for new construction and bringing older buildings up to code.
Nearly the same amount percentage-wise, $312.5 million, will be used to upgrade local parks and provide statewide grants and loans for water and sewer projects.
The remaining funds will be divvied up between the National Guard and public safety, agriculture — including an $85 million plant sciences building at N.C. State University — and state parks and attractions.
Locally, the Connect N.C. bond would fund $7.2 million in improvements at RCC, $23 million for a new business school at UNC-Pembroke and $2.6 million to the Lumber River State Park.
The funds for RCC will be used to build and expand classrooms, labs and shops as well as other areas on campus, according to McInnis.
He said the college would also expand the bookstore — run by the Illinois-based Follet Corp. — make room for more early college students, create a new student career and transfer center, add a cafeteria, make repairs and additions to the parking lot and increase faculty office space.
McInnis added that the items to be funded were determined before the bond was announced.
“We won’t get the whole $7.2 million all in one fell swoop,” McInnis said Tuesday, before a presentation to the Rockingham City Council. “This is going to take years.”
Proponents of the bond say there will be no new taxes or increases.
According to McInnis, the biggest savings will be on the local level, as all funding capital expenditures — including parking lot and roof repairs — comes from the county or fundraising.
He said with low interest rates and the state’s credit rating, plus the bipartisan support of the bond, “It’s just an ideal time to leverage all that and make stuff work.”
The Rockingham council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the bond after McInnis laid out the reasons why the college needs the funding. The Richmond County Board of Commissioners passed a similar resolution earlier in the month, as did the Richmond County Farm Bureau.
Revels posted a photo to her Facebook wall Thursday with two items from Article V of the North Carolina GOP platform circled in red.
The highlighted selections state: “We believe that government at all levels must not spend money it does not have;” and “No state funds should be spent without an explicit appropriation. We oppose ‘slush funds’ as rewards for political support.”
“The bond issue serves as an illustration of the disconnect between the grassroots members of the Republican Party and the top elected officials who claim to represent the party,” she said. “On the ground, all of the Republican groups I have spoken with are solidly in support of my position and the position outlined by the platform, even though it is Governor McCrory’s signature piece that I am opposing.
“The platform states that the Republican Party opposes debt and opposes political slush funds,” she continued. “This bond is both.”
Revels isn’t alone in her disdain for the plan.
At least three state representatives — Justin Burr, R-Stanly, Mark Brody, R-Union, and Michael Speciale, R-Craven — have been vocal in their opposition. Burr told the Daily Journal in January that the bond started out as a transportation proposal, but turned into “a politician’s Christmas tree where they’re doling out money across the state.”
The decision will be left up to the voters in Tuesday’s primary election.
Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.
Revels
http://yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_revels_mug.jpg
Revels
McInnis
http://yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_McInnis-1-Color-199×300.jpg
McInnis
By William R. Toler
wtoler@civitasmedia.com