North Rock Creek Public School District’s bond issue to build a new elementary and middle school barely passed on Feb. 10, while the one for Meeker Public Schools to build a new football field and track failed.
NRC saw the proposition pass with 61.11 percent for and 38.89 percent against. Bond issues need a supermajority of at least 60 percent support to pass.
“If it was a four-vote swing, it would have went the other direction,” said NRCSuperintendentBlake Moody.
Moody is anticipating construction to start in about 11 months. He said he visited with the architect and bond financial consultant once the election results were official, and they believe they’ll get funded by mid-summer on the big bond lease of $32 million. From there, it’s about 10 monthstodesign,andabout a month to choose a bid.
The first priority is to build a 16 or 17-classroom building for the elementary school and a 12-classroom middle school building.
“The elementary is selfexplanatory; it’s an archaic building. But the middle schoolwillputthosemiddle school kids out of their current building and free up that 11-classroom structure for more high school classroom spaces,” Moody said.
If interest rates hold and construction and bids come in low, the school district may be able to add in some extras -- namely, an expansion of the north hallway of the high school, adding two science labs, a black-box theater and a living history class and a gym expansion on the north side with additional weight room, workout facility, a hospitality area and high schoolsized locker rooms.
It is a continuation bond, which means taxpayers won’t see an increase in property taxes, but rather an extension, Moody said. Currently, the area is still paying off a 2017 bond that built the new high school for two more years, with the latest bond adding 10 years to that.
Moody said the sinking fund that pays off the current bond represents 33.09 percent of the total property tax. So, for example, if a tax bill is $2,000, approximately $661 is utilized for the sinking fund.
“Our valuation, our district value, the number of homes and businesses, didn’t keep up with it after we built the high school. So we had to wait for a certain number of years, even though we’re busting at the seams, to even run a bond issue to get enough money for a new building,” he said.
In Meeker, the bond issue was for $8.72 million to build a new football field with a track. The proposition failed with 57.87 percent against and 42.13 percent for. It would have been a 14.99 percent increase on the total millage rate for 13 years, meaning a person paying $100 in taxes would only see an increase of about $14.99.