MADISON COUNTY, AL (WAFF) -
Schools impacted by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure may have easier access to funds needed to build more schools.
Legislators worked to modify a bill passed in 2010 that would provide millions of dollars to schools overcrowded by an influx of students.
Some 4,000 direct jobs with Redstone Arsenal are having an impact on schools - mainly in the form of overcrowding.
Senator Arthur Orr hosted a meeting Thursday at Redstone Gateway to discuss how to access these funds.
Fifteen school systems in the surrounding five counties will be impacted as they are eligible for additional funding generated by Senate Bill 245, which was recently modified to enable school systems to more easily reap the benefits of expansion.
"It's almost $200-million of additional bond revenue funding available for the school systems here in the Tennessee Valley. That's important to these affected school systems," said Orr.
"BRAC is our number one jobs program not just in this area of North Alabama, but in our whole state. It brings more jobs to Alabama, bar none," said Mary Scott Hunter, Alabama Board of Education, District 8.
The money can only be used for the construction and renovation of schools with enhanced enrollments due to BRAC.
There is a hefty pay back provision, as the money is not free. The school system must pay back half of the funds.
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Schools may get access to funding that will solve the overcrowding problem that developed with BRAC.
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