The Fox C-6 School District held one more community meeting Monday morning about a potential $48 million bond issue that might be placed on the April ballot.
Four community members attended the meeting at the Arnold Recreation Center; 10 Fox C-6 officials also attended.
The district held four meetings, which it called community learning sessions, at its four middle schools in October and November, and Superintendent Paul Fregeau said about 95 people attended those meetings.
Fregeau said the fifth meeting was scheduled to allow people an opportunity to attend a meeting if they were unable to go to evening meetings at the middle schools.
During Monday’s meeting, Fregeau provided details about the district’s capital improvement needs for repairing or replacing roofs, HVAC systems and parking lots. He also provided information about recent security upgrades and potential security projects the district may fund if a bond issue is passed.
He said Fox C-6 has about $150 million in capital improvement needs based on a facility master plan that was created by Cordogan Clark, a St. Louis architecture, engineering and construction firm.
“People who have really detailed questions, I have met with, and they can tell that we have the details needed to support our needs,” he said after Monday’s meeting. “That was really important. We are just not pulling these numbers out of a hat. We have a detailed study that tells us the conditions of the roofs, HVACs and stuff like that.”
Those at the meetings were asked how they believed potential bond issue money should be spent. The district also has asked community members to fill out an online survey about how bond money could be spent.
Fregeau said district officials will present the feedback from the meetings and survey to the Board of Education at its next meeting, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, at the Fox C-6 Service Center, 849 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
He said board members will likely vote to place the bond issue on the April 7 ballot during the Jan. 13 meeting.
Michele Hodges, 69, of Arnold said she came to the meeting because she is a taxpayer and wanted to learn more about how Fox C-6 would spent the money if the bond issue is approved.
“I saw that they only had 95 people at the previous meetings, and I was like, ‘These are taxpayers. Why aren’t they coming out to find out how they (Fox C-6) want to potentially spend their money,’” she said. “This meeting was a good meeting. I had questions, and I got satisfactory answers. I understand the need, and if it is a no-tax increase bond, so much the better.”
Pat Willette, 78, of Arnold said the meeting was informative, and she would likely support a bond issue, if it was placed on the ballot.
“I have lived here for 38 years, and I have seen so many bond issues fail,” she said. “I have always supported the school, and I am big on maintenance. We have to keep up the schools.
“This meeting was very helpful, and it appears they have done all their due diligence. They are not just throwing money here or there without a big plan.”
Fregeau said the average age of the district’s 21 buildings is 48.2 years old, and many repairs to roofs, HVAC units and parking lots have been made, but not full replacements.
Those attending the meeting were asked to rank roofs, HVAC units and parking lot repairs by priority. Two people ranked roofs as No. 1, and two put HVAC units as No. 1.
Fregeau said roofs and HVAC units are nearly even as the top priorities during previous meetings and online survey responses.
Those attending the meeting also were asked to rank what security measures, either perimeter control or rapid response, they think Fox C-6 should pursue with bond money.
Three out of four ranked strengthening perimeter controls, which includes better exterior door controls, additional security film on windows and improved fencing and gates, as the top priority.
Rapid response measures include things such as more security cameras and a notification system.
Board President April Moeckel said if the bond is placed on the ballot and approved by voters, she hopes Fox C-6 will be able to address the building repairs and improve security measures.
“I hope we can address the immediate needs of the HVAC for sure,” said Moeckel, who has children attending Fox C-6 schools. “I have one kid who wants to wear a winter coat to school and another who wants to wear shorts because of the differing climates.
“As a parent, I also am aware of all the security needs and keeping all of our kids safe is very important to me.”
District officials said money from the bond issue could be spent on paying for new roofs, HVAC systems, parking lot repairs, school safety initiatives and possibly paying off lease agreements early.
The potential bond issue 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 Fox district currently 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.
Schmidt said Fox C-6’s general obligation bond debt would not be paid off until 2046 if voters approve the sale of $48 million in bonds.
If a bond issue were placed on the April ballot, it would require a four-seventh (57.14 percent) vote for approval.
Fregeau said he believes the board will support putting the bond issue on the April ballot.
“We have not done a major bond issue to support basic needs in I don’t know how long,” he said. “This is just basic maintenance like for your home, and that is how I want people to think about it.”
Fregeau said Fox C-6 has about 31 acres of rooftop. He said in the last three years, the district paid more than $1.8 million to complete two partial roof replacements, which left it with about 30.5 acres of roof that need to be replaced.
Fregeau said the estimated cost to replace the remaining 30.5 acres of roofs is $88 million.
He also said the district has spent nearly $5 million to repave more than 1.9 million square feet of asphalt parking lots over the last three years. He said the district still needs to spend more than $2 million to replace or repair just more than 796,000 square feet of asphalt.
Fox C-6 spent more than $4 million to replace 37 HVAC units over the past three years, Fregeau said, but it still has 300 units that need to be replaced at an estimated cost of more than $42 million.
Fregeau said security upgrades over the past three years included building secure entry vestibules at every school with money from a $40 million bond issue voters approved in June 2020, putting in 790 security cameras, 5,086 square feet of security film on strategic windows and access controls on more than 40 exterior doors.
He said some additional security initiatives that could be funded with revenue from another potential bond issue include adding more perimeter control, like fences and gates, exterior door controls and additional security film on windows.
Fregeau said the district’s security rapid response could be improved by purchasing more security cameras, notifications systems and new classroom doors that automatically shut during a lockdown.
If the potential $48 million bond issue were approved, the district would likely pay off a $6,225,000 lease-purchase agreement owed for building Antonia Middle and for buying several buses earlier than projected, Fregeau said.
Those agreements are scheduled to be paid off in 2028.
Fregeau said if that debt were retired, the district could then ask voters to approve shifting 19 cents from the debt service levy to the operating levy, which would make that 19 cent tax permanent and allow the district to use it for purposes other than paying off its debt.