What is a bond?
Issuing a bond is a way for school districts to borrow money to fund large projects. If approved by the community, a school district is able to sell bonds to investors to be repaid later. The voted increase in property taxes is used to pay back the bond holders.
The basic steps in this process are:
1. A school district gets consent from voters to raise taxes to pay for a bond.
2. A financial institution sells the bonds and gives the money to the district.
3. The voted tax increase pays back the bond over time.
How much is the proposed bond issue for Edison?
The district has a 6.71mill bond on the ballot. It would last for 37 years and raise $46,715,000 in local revenue. A mill is defined as one-tenth of a percent or one-tenth of a cent (0.1 cents) in cash terms. Millage is the factor applied to the assessed value of property to produce tax revenue.
How much is the proposed bond issue for Edison?
The district has a 6.71mill bond on the ballot. It would last for 37 years and raise $46,715,000 in local revenue. A mill is defined as one-tenth of a percent or one-tenth of a cent (0.1 cents) in cash terms. Millage is the factor applied to the assessed value of property to produce tax revenue.
Could the money raised by the bond issue be used to pay for things like salaries and benefits?
No. Funds raised by the passage of the bond issue can only be used to pay back the bond.
Why did the district decide to put a building issue on the ballot now?
The district has been exploring the option of new school buildings since 2007. Since that time, costs have risen and the state share of the costs has decreased. These two trends are likely to continue. The state share is expected to decrease again when the next calculation is released.
How long would it take for the buildings to be ready for students?
Predicting construction completion is challenging. However, a period of two to three years from the start of the design phase to the end of construction is to be expected.
What would the schools look like?Other than draft plot maps, there have not been any final decisions made about the overall design or appearance of new buildings. This is part of the design process that would take place after a bond issue is approved.
Schools constructed through a partnership with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) meet the standards specified in their design manual. A link to some recent projects can be found at their website:
https://ofcc.ohio.gov/Portfolios/K-12-Portfolio
How do you decide what is included in each school?
The OFCC follows the Ohio School Design Manual (OSDM) which establishes a set of standards used when partnering with districts to construct schools. This is intended to ensure fairness and consistency from project to project. The design manual establishes a “base plan” that will be supported with OFCC funds. This is referred to as the “co-funded” portion of the project. School building sizes and facilities are based on the number of students and the grade levels of the students housed within. Costs for additional requirements or options not included in the recommended OFCC base plan are fully funded by the district and not eligible for state funding; these are referred to as LFI’s (locally funded initiatives).
Does the proposed plan include LFI’s? Why?
Yes, many plans do. Sometimes the OFCC “base plan” does not match the facilities a district currently has or the configuration a district desires. For example, a base plan may not provide the same number of classrooms or it may provide smaller spaces than a district needs.
What locally funded initiatives does the proposal include? Why?
The proposal includes seven LFI’s:
1. A Project Agreement to renovate non-ODSM spaces to current standards and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications. Some current spaces at the high school are not included with an OFCC base plan. This would allow them to be renovated with the rest of the building.
2. Four additional preschool classrooms at the elementary school. Preschool facilities are not state funded and fall to the community to fund.
3. A new sewer line at the high school. The current system will be replaced with a sewer line to account for the increased student population with the middle school addition.
4. 15,000 square feet of integral space for academic use at the high school. According to OFCC calculations, the current high school is “oversized” because it includes spaces that OFCC would not include in a base plan. The district has to offset the cost for square footage above a base plan as an LFI.
5. An increase in the size of the gym at the elementary school from 4,700 square feet to 9,000 square feet. An “elementary sized” 4,700 square foot gymnasium would not accommodate the entire student body at the same time for events like assemblies. Increasing the size of the gym allows all students to fit. The increased size provides a full-size basketball court and seating for spectators. This makes the gym usable for athletic practices and events.
6. An increase in the size of the gym that would be part of the middle school addition to the high school from 7,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet. The increase in size would make the gym a “high school” sized gym instead of a “middle school” sized gym. This supports additional space for spectators.
7. A new board of education office. Depending on the future use of the Edison Elementary School property, it may be necessary to construct a new board of education office.
How is the cost of the project broken down between LFI’s and co-funded portions?The table on the following page shows how the costs are split. The total cost of the project is
estimated to be $87,335,037.70. Of that amount, $73,693,691.30 is co-funded with the state. Locally
funded initiatives represent a total of $13,641,346.40 .
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