The Jacksonville School District 117, ll., school board members approved the issuing of up to $15 million in construction bonds Wednesday night.
With sales tax revenues higher than expected, Superintendent Steve Ptacek said the district's bonding potential increased to $43.7 million.
Currently, the bonds are expected to bring in an additional $11.7 million in taxes, but Ptacek said that could change, which is why he has recommended the board approve a higher amount that could potentially be bonded out at a later time if the funds increase even more.
Ptacek said when the income from the sales tax was originally estimated, it was substantially lower than what it is now, therefore the board did not sell bonds to its full potential.
"I'm not recommending we sell $15 million in bonds," Ptacek said. "We are over stretching the authority, but the plan is to sell $10 million."
Ptacek recommended the board sell $10 million in bonds, leaving at least $1.7 million in bonding potential. Any additional bonds could be sold next spring if that is what the board decided to do.
"I recommend looking at selling $10 million, which makes us bank-qualified and we could get better rates," Ptacek said.
Already the district has bonded out about $32 million, which covered the renovations of both the Turner Junior High School and Lincoln Elementary School.
"Originally, the sales tax was just going to cover Turner Junior High School, but now it'll cover Turner, Lincoln and potentially one and a half other schools," Ptacek said. "All without a property tax increase."
The tax was passed in 2014 and can only be used on capital projects, such as renovation projects.
The board hasn't approved which building will receive the renovation but did discuss several of the possibilities.
"The board has directed me to compile a list of pros and cons for each school," Ptacek said. "They could make the decision at the next board meeting or it could take a couple of months.
The renovation of an elementary school would be similar to the one that took place at Lincoln in the summer of 2016 and could potentially take place next summer.
Ptacek said CTS Group, the company that headed the renovation of Lincoln Elementary School, projected the remaining elementary schools could be renovated, using the standard at Lincoln, for $35 million and created a list of costs for each building.
The board will be evaluating each of the buildings' needs to see which one should be renovated first.
