The Fox C-6 School District soon will receive an influx of cash to fund projects school officials promised to complete with revenue from Prop P, a $40 million bond issue voters approved last June.
Fox Chief Financial Officer John Stewart said the district will sell the bonds on April 20 and collect an estimated $43,535,603 from the sale on May 6.
“Based on the current market conditions, it is anticipated the district’s sale of bonds will generate a premium of $3,535,603,” Stewart said. “This means investors are willing to pay more than face value for our bonds, mainly due to the extremely low risk of investing in school bonds. Those ‘premium’ dollars would be available for use on Prop P projects.”
The funds generated by the bond sale, which does not change the amount of tax revenue Fox collects, will finance capital improvement projects throughout the district.
Board of Education members voted unanimously Feb. 16 to sell the bonds.
They also agreed to refinance the district’s series 2013B general obligation school building bonds, which will save the district a projected $2,518,801 as it pays off the $7,424,699 owed on those bonds, Stewart said.
He said the interest rate on the 2013 bonds will fall to 1.179 percent from about 5 percent to net the district the savings.
However, the debt on those bonds will be extended, with the district projected to pay the remaining money owed on the 2013 bonds by March 2027.
While Prop P did not increase district residents’ taxes, Fox’s bond debt was extended for 20 years, and the district is expected to pay off the $57,611,617 debt from the Prop P bond sale, including interest on the debt, by March 2041, according to Fox documents.
The district’s overall tax levy is about $4.57 per $100 assessed valuation, and of that, 39 cents per $100 assessed valuation is for the debt service levy.
“We want to thank our community once again for supporting Prop P and giving our students and staff optimal learning environments,” Superintendent Nisha Patel said. “It’s great to see our focus on capital improvements continue because ultimately it impacts academic achievement.”
Starting projects
Also on Feb. 16, school board members approved the first Prop P project.
The seven-member board voted unanimously to hire Integrated Facility Services of Fenton to replace HVAC systems and lighting and make other minor room renovations in four of Antonia Elementary School’s wings and the school’s gym, kitchen and cafeteria.
Fox will pay IFS $1,188,989 for the project, which is expected to begin shortly after the end of this school year and be completed by early August, Stewart said.
He said the sections of Antonia Elementary that will be worked on this summer were built in 1955, 1958, 1961 and 1992, and those areas house classrooms for students in first through fourth grade. He said 18 rooms will be slightly renovated, with new shelving added along walls that are worked on to get to the school’s existing HVAC system’s ducts and electric wiring.
“They go into the rooms and rip out existing ceiling and lighting and get rid of existing duct work,” Stewart said. “When they put things back in, it will be nicer than what is currently there.”
The HVAC and lighting are just two of the improvements planned for the school at 3901 Old Hwy. M in Antonia.
Prop P funds also will finance the construction of a new two-story addition at the front of the school, which will become the building’s new entrance. The anticipated cost for all the renovations at Antonia Elementary, including this summer’s project, is $9 million, Stewart said.
Patel said signage will be placed outside Antonia Elementary during the summer project indicating the work is being funded by Prop P.
“We want our community seeing what they have supported and the impact it is having on our schools and ultimately our entire community for generations to come,” she said.