The Pearl River Central School District will host its third and final bond referendum community meeting May 3.

The meeting will be held at the Pearl River Central High School gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. The special election will take place May 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Carriere safe room.

According to previous coverage, the PRC School District is proposing an $18.5 million bond to upgrade facilities at the Carriere and McNeill campuses. If passed, the bond would add 7.71 mills to the District’s tax rate.

According to estimated costs provided by the District, the total amount of the project comes out to be $18,988,518.

When asked about the $488,518 difference in the total project, Pearl River County School District Business Administrator T.J. Burleson said that amount entails the purchase of desks, computers, smart boards and any other equipment for the newly built classrooms. Funding to cover the $488,518 difference would come from the District’s fund balance.

“The $18.5 million bond will be used strictly for the construction costs of the new buildings,” Burleson said. “Another thing to keep in mind is that all the quotes are estimates. If the bond passes, our hope is that when the bids from contractors come back to us, the costs will be lower than we have anticipated.”

At the McNeill campus, one of the additions includes the construction of 24 classrooms at an estimated total cost of $6.1 million

Meanwhile, at the Carriere campus, the District proposes the addition of a 36,500 square-foot multi-purpose building at an estimated cost of $5.8 million. Also, a new 7,178-square-foot seven classroom building is estimated to cost $969,030. If the bond is passed, the Carriere campus would receive a renovation involving the addition of 6,329-square-feet to the library costing about $506,320.

The bond includes an estimate of $428,379.11 to cover the cost of demolishing current classrooms and buildings.

In 2017, the District proposed a $17 million bond which 55.8 percent of the 1,254 residents voted down.

Pearl River County Election Commissioner Reggie Hanberry said he expects the cost of this year’s special election to be same as last year’s, about $13,000.

Hanberry said that cost would cover the pay for poll workers, poll managers, commissioners and some supplies.

“I expect the cost for this year’s special election to remain the same as last year’s, mainly because people will be able to vote in just one location,” Hanberry said. “For a general or primary election, the costs range from $35,000 to $40,000.”

For more information regarding the special election, visit https://sites.google.com/prc.k12.ms.us/bond2018/overview.