The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted Oct. 16 to approve a bond purchase resolution authorizing the sale of up to $40,000,000 in limited-tax bonds (Series 2025) to fund capital projects across the district.

The board acted after roughly an hour of public comment and board discussion focused on financial risk if a proposed St. George school district is approved by voters next year. Public speakers, including Jamie Robertson and Tanya Nyman, urged the board to delay the bond until after the April 2026 vote on the St. George proposal, saying the new district could remove tax base and leave East Baton Rouge taxpayers responsible for debt assigned to facilities in the new jurisdiction.

"If Saint George is approved by voters in April, EBR will ultimately lose approximately $7,000,000 in tax revenue," speaker Jamie Robertson told the board, saying that outcome could turn an anticipated budget gain into a larger shortfall. Multiple commenters expressed similar concerns about the timing and asked the board to guarantee that projects inside a future St. George boundary would not be completed with bond proceeds before liability and asset divisions were resolved.

Jason Acres, who identified himself as the school board's bond counsel and said his team included underwriter Whitney Laird (Stifel, Nicolaus & Company) and municipal adviser Didi Riggins, explained the typical municipal financing process and the financial trade-offs of waiting. Acres said market conditions make borrowing now more favorable and estimated the bonds would produce roughly $20 million in interest over 20 years under current market assumptions, or about $3 million a year in debt service. He said the district's bond-coverage metrics would remain strong even if St. George were created.

"By not doing those projects and trying to bank that money and pay as you go, what is the inflationary cost going to be?" Acres told the board, adding that construction inflation in recent years could make waiting substantially more expensive.

Superintendent Lamont Cole, who repeatedly framed the decision around students' present needs rather than political considerations, said principals had been asked to submit prioritized lists of projects and that any specific projects would be brought back to the board for approval before funds were spent. "They are our students today," Cole said. "I have a responsibility to the students we serve today to not leave them out of the equation." He also confirmed the board can approve the bond resolution without immediately issuing bonds or spending proceeds.

Board members debated timing, legal risk and programmatic need before moving the resolution. Board member Mike Martin moved approval, and the motion carried after a voice vote.

Board members, bond counsel and the superintendent noted a statutory process would apply if a St. George district were created: the division of assets and liabilities would be determined by the parties and valuation date set by statute, which could affect which entity ultimately carries costs for improvements to specific facilities. Board member Goday emphasized the need for any work on schools that would become part of St. George to be done only with explicit agreement from a successor entity to assume the corresponding liabilities.

The board directed staff to continue the planned project-selection process and to present a prioritized list of recommended projects to the board at an upcoming retreat before any work began.

Votes and formal actions related to the bond sale were recorded as part of the meeting's consent and separate consideration motions; the board approved the bond resolution and proceeded to schedule and complete other agenda business.