SALISBURY — The Rowan County commissioners officially approved issuing bonds worth a total of $73 million to fund the replacement of Knox Middle School as well as other school projects throughout the county. The commissioners previously voted to approve the same bonds, but were forced to backtrack and vote again for administrative reasons.

Mary Nash Rusher, the county’s contracted bond counsel, said that the commissioners were voting again because they needed to first be presented with the documents in “substantially final form.”

Rusher and County Finance Director Anna Bumgarner were also able to present the commissioners with updated information on the timeframe of issuing the bonds. After the commissioners approve issuing the bonds, the issue will be presented before the N.C. Department of State Treasurer’s Local Government Commissioner for approval, which Rusher said she anticipates occurring on Sept. 10. Once the LGC votes, the county can move forward with selling the bonds and issuing the funding.

Bumgarner reiterated the terms of the bonds, which were that the principal amount is not to exceed $73 million, the interest is not to exceed 4.75 percent and the debt should be paid in full by December 2044. She also broke down the $73 million, saying that $55 million was going to fund the construction of the Knox Middle School replacement, $16 million would fund the replacement of roofs on schools throughout the county and $1.56 million would fund renovations to Fred L. Wilson Elementary School in Kannapolis. The rest would go towards other costs associated with issuing and closing of the bonds.

Commissioner Mike Caskey asked if the money could potentially be utilized for other purposes, to which Amy Vitner, with the county’s financial advisement company First Tryon, said that the $73 million would be specifically earmarked for the three projects and could not be used elsewhere.

Rowan-Salisbury School System Superintendent Kelly Withers appeared at the prior meeting to answer any questions from the commissioners and to expand upon what exactly the Knox project will entail.

The replacement school will serve students from third to eighth grade, while Overton Elementary School will retain the current kindergarten through second grade programs. Withers said that the school system also plans to use the additional space in the elementary school to add a pre-kindergarten program that services that area of the county. She said that by the time the Knox replacement school opens, Overton should be able to support between 10 and 12 pre-K classes.

The replacement school is expected to open in the fall of 2026, said Withers.

After the discussion, the commissioners voted to approve the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds, with Commissioner Craig Pierce being the only one to vote against.