Sycamore makes decision on funds for renovations
By DENNIS HINES Chronicle News Group
Sycamore School District officials decided this week on a funding option to help pay the cost to renovate and add more space to Sycamore Middle School.
The board members approved, by consensus, Tuesday evening to issue working cash bonds to help pay for the project. The board members are set to approve a notice of intent to sell the bonds during their Dec. 8 meeting. The closing date for selling the bonds will be Jan. 29, 2010.
Luke Glowiak, assistant superintendent of business, said he feels selling working cash bonds is the best option for funding the project.
"Right now, there's a very good market for tax-exempted bond issues. We would not sell any of these as Build America Bonds, which are taxable, but the tax component is offset by a rebate from the federal government," Glowiak said. "Right now, the most prudent plan for us would be to sell them as tax exempted."
School Board President Jim Dombek said selling working cash bonds will allow the district to renovate and expand the middle school without increasing the district's property taxes by more than $5. Dombek said when the district conducted a referendum in 2007 to build a new elementary school and renovate three existing elementary school, they promised residents that the district's property rate would not increase by that amount.
"It's going to allow us to stay within the cap that we imposed when we were seeking funds during the referendum, a $5 cap, so we don't have to exceed that," Dombek said. "It's a promise we made to the community. It's a promise we need to keep. This option will allow us to do that."
District officials plan to have about 41,700 square feet of the middle school renovated and to have about a 31,000 square-foot addition installed to the building. The project is expected to cost about $14.2 million.
Dombek said, with the downturn in the economy, the district has received lower bids on various projects from contractors who are looking for work.
"There are many more contractors submitting bids to us for projects, and it gives us a much better option in terms of getting a better price on projects moving forward," Dombek said. "Unfortunately for many people, this is hard times, but when you are actually doing a large project like this, it has a benefit for the entire community in that it reduces our expenses quite a bit."
Other funding options that were considered included using money from the district's operational fund reserves, conducting a referendum and selling debt certificates.
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