The Attala County School District plans to seek $1.1 million for capital projects through the expansion of a previous 3 mil note, as allowed by state statute.
According to Superintendent Kyle Hammond, the district issued a 3 mil note about 10 years ago and there are five years left on it, creating the opportunity for the district to borrow the equivalent of 1.5 mils — another $1.1 million — at this time.
Homeowners would see an increase of about $10 per $100,000 in value on their annual tax bill as a result, he said.
At a special called meeting last week, the board voted to hire Young Law Group as loan counsel and MuniGroup as municipal advisor in relation to issuing the notes.
According to Jim Young of Young Law Group, issuing the notes allows the district to complete needed major projects while preserving district funds.
“If you can fund (capital projects) with something that doesn’t drain your fund balance, you can keep that money for maintenance and repair,” he told the board.
In recent months, the county school board has been briefed on a variety of capital projects within the district, as well as opportunities for long-term energy savings if they invest in newer technologies for items like lighting, windows and air conditioning.
According to Superintendent Kyle Hammond, potential elementary school capital projects include a new roof at Greenlee Elementary School and significant drainage work at Greenlee and Long Creek elementary schools. At Ethel and McAdams high schools, science labs, which have not been functional since 1992 need replacement. Additionally, the canopies at the front entrances of various schools need replacement.
While those projects are the type that would be funded through a note issue, Young recommended a lease option for energy-efficiency investments. Those investments might include windows and light replacement in the schools, as well as the installation of new HAC units at both high school gyms, which currently have heat, but not air conditioning. The bulk of payments on the related borrowed funds would be covered by the savings generated by the projects.
Approving the resolution of intent to issue notes during the meeting was only the first step in the process, according to Young. It does not commit the board to actually follow complete the transaction or to any specific projects.
Young suggested that the board also approve solicitation of proposals from banks to sell the notes so that the board could select a bank at an Aug. 3 meeting in addition to officially endorsing the issuance of the note. The timing would allow school officials to submit the district’s final ad valorem request by the Aug. 15 deadline.
The board would then begin the process of developing a list of project priorities, so that once the funding is available, they would proceed with getting quotes. The district would then work its way down the priority list, completing as many projects as possible with the available funding.
The board will have two years to issue the notes, and then three years to spend the funds.
