By next school year Cedar Grove Elementary students should see vast improvements within their school, and they're not alone. Three others, Mowat Middle, Rutherford High and Callaway Elementary, were also approved for renovations during the next two school years.

About $8 million of the necessary $21 million in funding will come from what's left of the old half-cent sales tax money. The rest could come from your wallet. Board members are considering an increase in property taxes.

"If it needs to go up to 1 1/4 mils then I'm for it. If it needs to be 1 1/2 mils, then we will have to do that also, and I'm willing to stick my neck out for the safety of our children here in Bay District Schools," said Johnny Brock, a school board member.

Rutherford High School's gym is one of those safety concerns. The building does not have heating or air conditioning. Some of the classroom buildings date back to the school's opening in 1960.

Principal Mike Kennedy hopes they can be improved to match some of the updated buildings, but not all board members want the renovations if they take extra money out of local property owners' pockets.

"There is no way Jon McFatter is going to ever support an increase in property taxes until we exercise some restraint in our school system," said Jon McFatter, a school board member.

"We just gave our teachers a salary increase with benefits, and that was very important to our teachers, so we're going to turn around then and tax them? It just doesn't make sense to me," said Pat Sabiston, another school board member.

Both McFatter and Sabiston wanted to wait until the legislature finalized its budget before approving the projects. Now they'll have to wait for the final budget to see where the funding stands.

Board member Donna Allen said increasing property taxes to two mils is not her first choice, but without the 1/2 cent sales tax, she'll support the increase.

Ginger Littleton added that if the money doesn't come from the state, it will have to come from "us", meaning the taxpayers.

That would be a 3 to 2 margin in favor of raising property taxes. Superintendent James McCalister does not have a vote in the matter, but says he would like to keep the millage rate at one-mil.