Facts you have never been told about the construction of a college. Vote against the bond issue Saturday, June 6.  Early voting starts May 18.

• Talks began 18 months ago with a cost of $1 million to the city and the state would soon take over the operation. ALL CITY LEADERS WERE IN AGREEMENT WITH THIS PROPOSAL.
• The price tag today is $3 million and there is NO agreement for the state to take it over. The cost, location and economy have changed support as it should under the current 9.6% unemployment and banking/market/energy volatility.
• Vol State and Austin Peay each have backed away and returned to participate but have only agreed to a 3 year lease for a total of $10,000 a year on a $6 million investment by the taxpayers of this city and county. This is not a good return on our investment when the state pays the universities $4,500 for each student they have enrolled. This is a windfall profit for the other schools to take home rather than pay a reasonable amount of rent. Also, their budgets will decline this year by 20% or more. The universities could pull back services including off site locations such as this one.
• Vol State President Dr. Nichols said they plan to start slow with the classes offered. He also said they do not want to offer too many classes as to draw away from their main campus. He further agreed to work with our community on an alternative site such as with the 120,000 square feet of empty space at a local shopping center if this site is not approved. The shopping center space could be in  Mooreland or Big Lots, with renovations at a fraction of the cost to build new. This would be welcomed by area merchants instead of having it in the middle of a farm as it is now.
• The renovated entrance and interior would already have a parking lot, security lights, restaurants, and retail stores nearby.
• If built on the current site, taxpayers will have to build a 900-foot road to reach the property (another gift from the taxpayers to a developer who can sell lots down both sides), and you won't be able to see it from the main road once the lots are developed. It will be at the back of a dead end road and behind high powered TVA lines.
• The developer paid around $6,500 per acre for the land donated. An appraiser in Nashville that used comps in White House across the street from Kroger on the corner of Raymond Heirsh Parkway and Hwy 76 to value the land. It was appraised at $153,000 an acre. This is significant when the school needs to expand or needs right of way.
• The residents of Springfield (because we pay city and county property taxes) will pay $4.30-4.75 for every $1.00 someone in the county pays for this project.  For Example: 15,000 City residents pay $3 million and 50,000 county residents pay $3 million the City residents pay a ratio of more than 4:1.
• The school building will only be about 22,000 square feet. This is barely a half acre, or the size of a nice building lot for a home.  IT WILL NOT BE AS BIG AS VOL STATE, AS SOME BELIEVE.
• The City owes about $25 million now and the county owes more than $250 million. Yes that is a quarter of a billion dollars. More than twice the amount as some of five other counties in Tennessee with a census of 65,000 residents.
• YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A DEGREE FROM THIS LOCATION -- Dr. Nichols, president of Vol State. You will still need to travel to a main campus or finish online to complete a degree. The main purpose of this site is to offer remedial and a LIMITED number of first- and second-year college classes.
• Vol State’s online course enrollment increased 25 percent from 2008 to 2009 -- Dr. Nichols, president of Vol State.  Why at this rate of increase in online technology would you want to build another brick and mortar dinosaur for THIS LEVEL OF TRAINING?
• Most of the courses to be offered are already being offered ONLINE, and at Springfield High, Greenbrier High, Jo Byrns and White House Heritage.   Information received from Vol State’s own web site. Check it out for yourself.
• Alderman Clay Sneed sent 1,200 survey letters in Ward Six in April of 2008 on this subject. Seventy-three percent of the respondents replied do not raise my LOCAL TAXES to pay for something that the state should provide.
• Alderman Sneed is doing what his constituents told him to do when they were asked -- support the project but with state or county funding.

Why the education facility should be placed in existing space.

Aldermen voting to let the people have a referendum: Cherry, Ellis, Sneed.
Aldermen voting NO don’t let the people decide: Hubbard, Mason, & Mayor Carneal.  Who's side on this issue (in this economy) are you going to be on?

MAIN CONCERNS OF OPPOSING CITY/COUNTY LEADERS

• COST OF  PROJECT/ADDITIONAL  DEBT.
• DESIGN TO ACCOMMODATE ONLY 175 STUDENTS
• $6 MILLION DIVIDED BY 175 = $34,285  PER STUDENT
• AT THIS RATE YOU COULD GIVE  $1,000  SCHOLARSHIPS TO 175  STUDENTS FOR 34 YEARS!!
• LOCATION……  TOO FAR FROM MAIN ROAD
• LOCATION…… BEHIND HIGH POWER T.V.A. LINES ( UNSIGHTLY)
• LIMITED NUMBER OF CLASSES TO BE OFFERED
• CLASSES AVAILABLE ONLINE / AREA HIGH SCHOOLS NOW
• STATE BUDGET CUTS YET UNKNOWN
• VOL STATE AGREEABLE TO TALK LATER IN BETTER ECONOMY
• VOL STATE WILL  OFFER LIMITED CLASSES AS TO NOT DRAW TOO MUCH FROM THE  MAIN CAMPUS- Dr. Nichols, President of Vol State
• TOO MUCH AVAILABLE SPACE IN SPRINGFIELD
• WILL DIVERT RESOURCES AWAY FROM OTHER  PROJECTS
• THE CONTRACT:  THE LAND DONOR COULD OWN BUILDING
• CITY RESIDENTS   PAY   A RATIO  OF  4 : 1
• SURVEY OF 1,200 RESIDENTS:  NOT IF MY TAXES WILL INCREASE
• PROJECT IS BEING PUSHED TOO HARD BY A LOCAL DEVELOPER