The Lopez Island School District will have a measure on the Feb. 14, 2012 special election ballot.
The district is seeking voter approval to issue bonds for the purpose of repayment of a $1 million line of credit it obtained in October 2009 to address two critical facility issues.
In the fall of 2009 the district established a line of credit with Cashmere Valley Bank to obtain the funds it needed for the emergency replacement of a failed fire suppressant sprinkler system at Lopez Elementary School and to continue work on the upgrade of the heating and ventilation (HVAC) system. Both issues demanded prompt attention, with the emergency replacement of the elementary fire sprinkler system required to keep the school open. Fire department officials deemed the elementary school building not safe for use when the existing sprinkler system failed, requiring the district to immediately replace the failed system. The district’s insurance carrier denied coverage for the costs of replacing the fire sprinkler system, and other alternative funding sources explored by the district required repayment from district funding categories that would have potentially undermined funding for services to students and for district operations.
The repayment of the Cashmere Valley Bank line of credit is due in December 2012. School districts are permitted by state law to incur non-voted debt in instances such as this, and repayment of that debt by the issuance of voter-approved bonds is acceptable and frequently utilized. The Lopez Island School District is seeking the approval of its voters in the February election to issue bonds to repay the line of credit.
The annual individual cost to district tax payers for the bond measure is approximately seven cents per $1000 of assessed property value, or $21.00 per year on a $300,000 home and $35 on a $500,000 home. The bond repayment period is projected to be 15 years.
“The district has received recommendations from its financial consultants that this is a very good time for this measure, due to historically low interest rates,” said superintendent Bill Evans. “The district’s excellent bond rating will allow the district to secure bonds at these very low interest rates to further reduce the tax burden to its taxpayers.”
The district is also faced with facility and educational needs and will likely seek further voter-approved bond funding in the near future.
“We want to be very clear and straight-up with our voters and get this line of credit dealt with, without the potential confusion of multiple projects” Evans said. “Our community is so supportive of its schools and we want to respect that support by being clear and succinct in our requests for additional financial support.”
