The December Capital Vote
Update: 9/24/26
The school district has announced the details of its capital project vote. Rome voters will decide on Tuesday, December 8, and there will be two questions on the ballot instead of one. Proposition 1 costs $23,151,555 and covers a new gym, auditorium, cafeteria and locker rooms at Clough, plus tearing down the former Staley school. Proposition 2 costs $7,951,375 and replaces the closed grandstand at RFA Stadium, but it only happens if Proposition 1 also passes. Together they add up to about $31.1 million, the same total as the plan the board picked in August. The district says its goal is no tax increase, but the details of how the project will be paid for are still being worked out.
The Two Questions Are Linked
Proposition 2 only takes effect if Proposition 1 passes. Here is what that means for your ballot. If both pass, both projects happen. If Proposition 1 passes and Proposition 2 fails, Clough and Staley move forward and the grandstand does not. If Proposition 1 fails, neither project happens, even if Proposition 2 gets more yes votes.
No Tax Increase Is A Goal, Not A Promise
The letter says the district is working to complete the project without an additional tax impact, and that financing is still being refined. It lists four sources of money: state building aid, FEMA and state emergency funds plus insurance money tied to Staley, the district's capital reserve, and other district funds. In August, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Georgia Gonzalez said Rome's local share would be about $8 million. The district moved $3 million into its capital reserve on September 21, which she said would bring the reserve to about $6.3 million. That leaves roughly $2 million to borrow unless the annual audit, due in October, turns up more leftover money.
