Board approves COPs authorization after lengthy debate over COPs/TANs hybrid for Buckeye work

The Riverside Local School District board on Wednesday approved a resolution authorizing certificates of participation (COPs) financing — over two dissenting votes — after a detailed presentation on a hybrid financing plan that would pair COPs with a $3 million tax anticipation note (TAN) to fund construction and renovation work, including Buckeye additions and renovations.

The authorization followed a 90‑minute discussion led by financial adviser Mike Purcello, who described a hybrid structure intended to lower overall interest costs by combining a TAN (10‑year maximum maturity) with longer‑term COPs (up to 30 years) for the bricks‑and‑mortar portion of the project.

Purcello said the TAN portion is limited by statute to using up to 50% of revenue from a given permanent improvement levy for debt service; he described using about $3 million in TANs alongside approximately $9 million in COPs as one likely split, producing a combined annual payment he and district staff estimated at roughly $825,000 depending on final pricing and interest rates. "The tax anticipation note is a much stronger credit [to investors]," Purcello told the board, and combining the two vehicles can reduce overall debt service by an estimated 15 percent compared with COPs alone.

Board members pressed Purcello and Treasurer Steve Thompson for specifics on timing, disclosure, and the risk the district would take on if a mortgaged facility — in the discussion, Buckeye's older portion — became unusable. Purcello described…