Voters will need to decide in May whether to approve a bond resolution meant to expand the high school, renovate the middle school’s entrance and renovate the West Resource Center to use for early childhood education.
The school board approved a bond resolution to not exceed $39,950,000 at Thursday night’s special meeting.
The board voted unanimously to approve the language that will be used on the ballot, as well as the amount. The public will vote May 16.
The money would be used for the following projects:
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Construct, equip and furnish additions at Eudora High School to create a storm shelter, auxiliary gym, gymnasium, fitness center and classrooms
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Construct, equip and furnish a new main entry for Eudora Middle School for enhanced security, including associated renovations to the office area
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Upgrade the playground at Eudora Elementary School to support the student population
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Renovate and improve West Resource Center to accommodate preschool classrooms, administration, circulation and playgrounds
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Make improvements throughout school buildings to upgrade communication, technology, mechanical systems, fire alarms, lighting and roofing
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Make all other necessary improvements
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Pay costs of issuance and interest on said general obligation bonds of the district construction of the project
The school board met for multiple work sessions to discuss plans before deciding on the newest bond amount.
Following the announcement of Panasonic, the district organized a planning board made of community volunteers and professionals. The group decided what the necessary additions to the schools should be.
Property taxes are not expected to increase for homeowners, but taxes could go up due to valuation adjustments by local appraisers, said Steve Shogren, underwriter and financial adviser of the project and managing director with Stifel Institutional.
In the last five years, the district’s tax base has grown by $36.8 million, or an increase of almost 10% per year on average, Shogren said.
With tax base growth, state aid and a relatively low interest rate, the school district can do this financing, and the current mill levy that’s being levied for previous debts will have enough cash flow to cover the old and proposed new debts from the upcoming bond issue.
The school’s old debt, which is receiving 67% in state aid, must be paid off by 2030, which is a big factor, Shogren said.
The new debt is eligible for 28% in state aid. Shogren will work to design new bonds to dovetail with the old to create a mill levy that is consistent over the upcoming years through retirement of the old debt.
The mill rate is not anticipated to increase, but the levy will continue after 2034 to take care of these new bonds for another nine years.
“But as far as taxes on any property, residential, commercial or ag, it should not increase. It should not increase the mill levy,” Shogren said. “I want to say that the taxes in theory can go up due to assessed valuation adjustments by the local appraiser.”
The board debated whether they would keep the total under $40 million or not exceed $40.5 million and ultimately decided the lower total is best for voters.
“We’re issuing a bond for the full price of our project. We will meet that price of the project,” board member Lynn Reazin said. “If it doesn’t work, then we will not do parts of the roof or flush out all the classrooms, or we have our list of the first things to go.”
Depending on the interest that accrues, the district may have extra money to make it to the $40.5 million mark.
“This meeting is being broadcast and if somebody asks why we’re gonna live within that budget, we believe we’re going to have some additional money and if they’re overrun on the cost, we think we can address that,” Shogren said. “It’s not unusual that a project ends up costing a little more than what was budgeted with a two- to three-year timeframe.”
The answer is interest earnings and capital outlay funds to take care of any remaining project needs, Shogren said.
Before the May 16 vote, the district has to go through the proper checks and balances.
Superintendent Stu Moeckel said now is the time to tell their story to the community.
“The next steps are a lot of legal processes we have to go through to get through the state board, and what we have to submit to the county,” Moeckel said. “But the biggest next steps for us as a community is going to be getting out and gathering more information from our committee and we will be bringing more people in.”
Moeckel said they will talk to teachers, staff and other employees to hear their feedback and input.
“Then we get out and start telling our story and that will be in late March,” Moeckel said. “We will host as many different community events, and get-togethers, and mailers as we can to inform everybody just what this encompasses.”
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected]
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