School board to discuss possible bond

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- The school board will make preliminary decisions tonight

about the bond it will propose to put before voters, and how and when it

would pay back the money.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education at today’s

study session will focus on one option: a possible general obligation

bond.

“The options are relatively straight forward, and the [facilities]

committee has repeatedly recommended that the board only use one option,”

said Mike Fine, assistant superintendent in charge of finances.

A citizens committee, charged with studying the needed school facilities

repairs and funding, has recommended the board ask voters to approve a

$110-million bond to pay for the work.

The committee studied several other options and decided that a bond was

the best way to go. If passed, the bond will tax residents in the

district on the assessed value of their properties.

The key advantage of a bond is it makes the district eligible for

matching state funds, committee member Kurt Yeager said.

The committee determined that, of the $163 million needed to repair

schools, the maximum amount the district can hope to obtain from the

state is $53 million. That would leave $110 million to be raised locally.

“But there is only so much of those state dollars,” Yeager said. “The

district is eager to get in line because it would defray about a third of

the cost.”

If the board decides tonight that it wants to pursue a bond, Fine said he

will ask the board to start reviewing rough drafts of documents needed to

move forward.

Those documents will require the board to iron out several details before

a bond measure can be placed on a ballot. For example, board members will

need to decide how they will pay off the bond, in level or escalating

payments, Fine said.

The payment may remain a specific amount for the life of the loan or

payments may increase over time. District officials will also discuss how

long the district will take to repay the bond.

The board will probably want to make sure the repayment process doesn’t

take longer than the life of the improvements, Yeager said. He said

residents do not want to still be paying for this work in 50 years, when

they could need repairs again.

“Terms of a bond range realistically between more than 20 years and less

than 30,” he said. “That is what level of tax burden is appropriate.”

The district staff will also review where the funds come from and how

bonds work, Supt. Robert Barbot said, adding, the study will benefit the

public, as well as the board.

“We will walk people through the process,” he said. “This should be one

of the simpler meetings.”