McGuffey approves $7M bond issue
McGuffey School Board is moving forward with plans to update the district’s two elementary schools, Claysville and Joe Walker. In a vote Thursday, the board approved a bond issue not to exceed $7 million, the bulk of which will go toward making safety improvements in the schools.
“Now is the time to do it,” said Carl Group, board president.
According to Jim McClelland, McGuffey supervisor of buildings and grounds, the schools are in dire need of updating.
“It’s been 21 years since Claysville has been modernized,” he said. “We’re talking about new doors, windows and handrails.”
The bond, which is to be paid back over 25 years, will also cover heating and ventilation work to both schools, with a new air conditioning system to be installed at Joe Walker Elementary.
“There had never been one there,” McClelland said. “They’ve been using fans. It gets hot.”
In addition to the upgrades, the bond will help pay for land already purchased by the district, a parcel adjacent to Claysville Elementary that will be graded and used as a parking lot.
The district has placed itself in a good position to borrow the money, said Christopher Brewer, a partner at Dinsmore and Shohl, the Pittsburgh-based finance company that will find investors to back the bond. The district has gone from an A to an A+ on its general obligation bonds from Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services, which investors consider when purchasing bonds.
According to Standard and Poor’s website, McGuffey’s rating is a result of the district’s “moderately concentrated property tax base with strong wealth and good income indicators; access to the Pittsburgh metropolitan statistical area for employment; very strong financial position that is expected to remain as such despite the planned use of reserves in 2013 for one-time capital projects; and moderate overall net debt burden and limited borrowing needs.”
The rating also helps secure a lower interest rate for the bond, which is expected to be between 4.5 to 5 percent.
According to McClelland, work on both elementary schools will begin in the spring and be finished in time for the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.