BOURBON – Triton School Board held a public hearing Monday regarding general obligation bonds to fund building projects.
Chris Pottratz, with Warrick & Boyn, and one of the attorneys for the school corporation, said any time a school corporation does a project of more than $1 million to repair or alter its building and it’s financed by bonds, a public hearing has to be held to explain the value of the project.
“This meeting is the first step in your bond process,” Pottratz said.
Superintendent Jeremy Riffle said general obligation bonds will be sought with the intent of proactive maintenance to Triton’s facilities. Some of the things on Triton’s list of possible projects include auditorium railing in the performing arts center, tennis court crack fills, possibly adding a baseball or softball field, high school furniture replacement, possible risers, cabinets in the elementary school, WiFi upgrades and bringing the high school fire system into one system instead of two.
Riffle said Triton hasn’t solidified what exact projects will be done because of investments and/or the school corporation wants to make sure they are prioritizing needs of projects.
“Some of these projects will be done with the bond we currently have, not with the bond we will be entering into in 2025,” Riffle said.
Business Manager Tom McFarland said Triton is looking into a $1.85 general obligation bond. The tax rate the school corporation is trying to hit is 84 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Sean McGill, with Baker Tilly, said the school corporation’s tax rate is pretty much linearly correlated to the amount of debt service payment that needs to be funded in that current year. In 2023, Triton’s total debt service payments totaled about $1.4 million and that was supported by a tax rate of 84 cents.
In 2024, total payments are just over $1.2 million. The tax rate dropped down to 76 cents. Obtaining the $1.85 million general obligation bond would bring the tax rate back up to 84 cents.
McGill said the overall goal was to fund the school corporation’s projects while maintaining their tax management goals.
Triton’s maximum general obligation bond capacity is just below $2.7 million. Outstanding general obligation bonds is $1,085,000. The current debt service payment shows after July 15, the school corporation will have a $1,850,000 general obligation bond available, McGill said.
Repayment for the general obligation bond is three years and three months.
The board approved and adopted three resolutions to start the general obligation process: a project resolution, a preliminary bond resolution and reimbursement resolution.
There were no public comments during the public hearing.
In other business, the board:
• Heard Triton Student Life Foundation Gala raised $70,000 for the Triton Student Life Foundation Saturday.
• Heard kindergarten registration is 4 to 6 p.m. today.
• Heard Drug Abuse Resistance Education graduation is April 18.
• Heard 27 students were inducted into the National Honor Society.