School
Central Schools Seek Bond Extension to Upgrade Facilities: Millages to Stay the Same, New Monies Dedicated
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Press Release
The Central Community School Board is asking Central voters to approve a proposition on the Nov. 16 ballot that will allow the school district to borrow up to $13.1 million to pay for upgrades to school facilities.
The additional monies can be borrowed by extending for five years the payout of existing school construction bonds that were approved by voters in 2009 and not increase the yearly millage rate now paid by local property owners. Those bonds are currently being paid with a 23.65-mill property tax and are scheduled to be paid off by 2029; the proposed extension would push the payoff to 2034.
“Thanks to the strong financial standing of our school district, we can borrow extra monies without increasing the taxpayers’ yearly costs. We can extend our existing construction bonds and continue to pay them off at a very low interest rate,” Central Schools Superintendent Michael Faulk said.
Faulk said the $13.1 million improvements planned for the school district will be dedicated to specific projects, so taxpayers will know exactly where their monies will go.
“This school board and administration are committed to transparency and being good stewards of our community’s money. That’s why all the anticipated revenues from the extension of this construction bond have been earmarked for specific projects,” Faulk said. “Also, many uses for the monies were originally discussed by the board and in public forums, so we wanted to present a clear and final list of the projects that were put at the top of our to-do list.”
He said approximately $11.62 million would be dedicated to the following improvements: construction of a 9th Grade Academy ($5.82 million); repair of Central High School’s parking lot ($1.8 million); installation of lighting at Central High School’s baseball and softball fields ($500,000); upgrade of district technology to manage new mandated state assessments ($2 million); and demolition and asbestos abatement of old buildings, as well as upgrades to the property at the former Central Middle School ($1.5 million).
He said another $1.39 million, which is about 12 percent of those anticipated expenditures, would be budgeted as a contingency fee as required under the district’s risk management policy, bringing the total to $13.1 million.
“This funding would enable our district to make much-needed improvements to maintain high performance levels in Central,” Faulk said.
Last year, Central Schools received an “A” rating from the state and a No. 4 ranking among statewide public school districts. The schools earned a District Performance Score of 124.1 points, which was the district’s highest score since it began receiving performance grades from the state. During that time, the district has invested in new facilities – replacing old structures and rented space – with the construction of the new Central Middle and Central Intermediate schools, and made significant life safety improvements to its existing facilities.
For more information on the school proposition election, visit the Central Community School System website at www.centralcss.org.
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