Fox C-6 School District voters will decide whether to approve a $48 million bond issue on April 7.
District officials said if the bond issue, which is called Proposition M, is approved, the money would be used to replace HVAC systems and roofs; install safety and security improvements in buildings; and pay off existing leases. Prop M stands for “maintain our schools, modernize our safety measures and manage our resources.”
If voters approve the bond issue, Superintendent Paul Fregeau said, Fox C-6 will be able to address a significant number of HVAC and roof issues, make buildings safer for students and staff and allow the district to avoid paying millions of dollars in interest payments on the existing lease agreements.
“It would put us in a good position moving forward as we try to get our buildings back to where they need to be and make sure our people are safe in our school buildings,” Fregeau said.
The bond issue, which requires a four-seventh (57.14 percent) vote for approval, would not require a tax increase. However, if approved, the district’s debt-service levy would be extended once the new bonds are sold.
Fox C-6 has an overall tax levy of $4.1867 per $100 assessed valuation, with the debt-service levy accounting for 39.01 cents of that. Debt-service levy funds are used to pay district debts.
Chief operating officer Tracy Schmidt said the district owes $47,024,963.40 for general obligation bonds and $6,225,000 for lease agreements. The general obligation bonds are projected to be paid off in March 2041, and the lease agreements are expected to be paid off in March 2028.
If voters approve the $48 million bond issue in April, the school district’s general obligation bond debt would not be paid off until 2046, Schmidt said.
District officials said lockdown capable classroom door hardware, modernized exterior door monitoring and controls, and rapid response emergency notifications systems would be installed at all 17 school buildings and the Don Earl Early Childhood Center.
The district said Prop M money would be used to update HVAC units and temperature controls at Clyde Hamrick and Rockport Heights elementary schools.
Fox C-6 also will completely replace the roof and update the HVAC unit and temperature controls at Antonia Middle School, and it will replace part of the roof and update the HVAC unit and temperature controls at Fox Middle.
The district said the bond money also would pay for partial roof replacements at Meramec Heights and Seckman elementary schools.
In addition, if voters approve the bond issue, the district would pay off a lease-purchase agreement early. That debt is owed for building Antonia Middle and for buying several buses earlier than projected, officials said.
If that debt were retired, the district may shift 19 cents from Fox C-6’s capital improvement fund to its operating fund. Board members would have to approve the shift when the district sets its tax rate in September.
Fox C-6’s current capital improvement levy is 32 cents per $100 assessed valuation, and its operating levy is $3.4766 per $100 assessed valuation. If the board approves the shift, the district’s capital improvement levy would drop to 13 cents, and its operating levy would rise to $3.666. Its overall levy of $4.1867 per $100 assessed valuation would remain unchanged.
