The Brown Schools Board of Trustees has approved three resolutions to borrow $8 million for two separate HVAC and general maintenance projects at the high school.
Initially, the school board was asking for less than $6 million in bond funding, but at the July 15 board meeting, Joe Ciancio with Baker Tilly presented an updated estimate for project costs and funding that had the district borrowing $8 million.
The bond will be repaid back over five years. The bond will be issued this fall and payments are set to begin in 2022. The bond will not affect the district’s debt service tax rate, which means Brown County taxpayers should not see any increase to their property taxes, Ciancio said.
The school district will pay off more debt in 2023, meaning additional needs in the district can be addressed with another bond at that time, Ciancio said.
The $8 million bond will fund improving the air handling system in the majority of the high school, with the exception of the art and science wing since both were recently renovated, according to a preliminary improvement list from Performance Services.
The new HVAC will have better ventilation and humidity controls. All HVAC units in most classrooms will be replaced.
Performance Services will be responsible for bidding out the projects.
The estimated cost for the HVAC project is between $3.8 and $4.4 million.
Renovating the locker rooms at the high school also will be funded with the bond. That will cost between $650,000 and $750,000. This includes painting and repairing lockers, modifying all restrooms in the gymnasium to be ADA compliant, painting walls and modifying shower areas. Water fountains in the gym will also be replaced with bottle fillers, according to the preliminary improvement list.
Alternate epoxy flooring is also planned to be installed in the corridor outside the locker rooms on the north side of the Larry C. Banks Gymnasium, which could cost between $55,000 and $70,000.
To replace the remaining HVAC system in the gymnasium, including the weight room and auxiliary gym, is estimated to cost between $1.5 and $2 million.
Steve Thoman with Performance Services told the school board on July 15 that more project elements could be added as bids come in and depending on the prices of materials. The plan is to have final project costs in front of the board by September.
The $8 million covers all of the project costs, including the hard and soft construction costs along with bond financing costs.
The projects would begin next summer.
Other improvements that are not budgeted or funded yet include adding a storage unit outside for athletic equipment, upgrading the sound system in the gymnasium, and filling in the tiered floor in the high school band and choir rooms.
In May, the board was presented with three different funding levels, with the other two resulting in possible remonstrances if the costs of the projects went over $5.575 million and over $16.727 million.
Funding a project that is more than $5.575 million would make the project subject to a possible remonstrance petition. Going over $16.727 million in project costs means the taxpayers would have the legal ability to file a petition and request a referendum election.
The board initially decided to go with projects that were below the $5.75 million threshold. The HVAC project at the high school is separate from the general maintenance project in the gymnasium, so each project does not go above the $5.75 million threshold.
On July 19, the board approved a high school project resolution, a general maintenance project resolution, and a declaration of official intent to reimburse expenditures. The declaration states that the bond will not exceed $8 million to pay or reimburse the district for the projects.
