Town council authorizes $2.5 million in advance school‑building reimbursement to keep high‑school schedule on track

The South Kingstown Town Council on Jan. 13 voted to authorize up to $2.5 million in advance reimbursement (PAYGO) funds from the state School Building Authority to cover critical design and early‑procurement costs for the new high school and related project contingency.

School project staff said the request is intended to keep the construction schedule on track while the project completes design and refines its guaranteed maximum price. Town and school building committee members said they hope to repay the advance from unused project contingency or later state reimbursements; staff warned there is no absolute guarantee until the project reaches the GMP stage.

Project manager Chris Spiegel said the project already reduced roughly $10 million in costs without affecting educational programming but remains about $2.5 million over on items that the committee did not accept for deletion, including the auditorium balcony, a so‑called “coral room” and classroom‑perimeter reductions. Spiegel said those items must be funded now to avoid schedule slippage: “These are elements of the design that need to move forward now in order for us to maintain the project schedule.”

Finance Director Bridal Mahoney (presenting the town’s financial options) explained how the School Building Authority’s advance program works: the town can receive an upfront payment equal to the state’s base reimbursement rate (35% for South Kingstown) on eligible invoices up to program caps; additional bonus reimbursement (up to an additional 15%) may be added later only after a project completes and is submitted for final reimbursement. Mahoney said the town has authorization for up to $9,748,398 in advance reimbursement across eligible projects; the $2.5 million request would be drawn from that authorization.

Under the PAYGO scenario presented to the council, advancing $2.5 million increases the town’s annual net local contribution to debt service by about $207,000 on average (the presentation estimated a $19 annual increase on the median assessed home of $468,300 in one projection). Staff said the overall bond structure, interest rate assumptions and amortization term would not change; the immediate effect is a modest increase to the town’s average annual local share while the advanced funds are outstanding.

Spiegel and the finance director emphasized the town is holding roughly $10 million in project contingency and was reluctant to spend contingency early. The advance was requested so that projects that must move forward for schedule reasons can proceed while the project team works to repay the advance with the contingency or later reimbursements.

After a lengthy public discussion — during which residents asked for clearer charts and timelines and asked why the project costs rose — the council voted in favor of the resolution authorizing PAYGO advance reimbursement funding not to exceed $2,500,000 "for additional project contingency to be used for critical educational and programmatic needs" (memo from the school building committee dated 01/13/2025). The motion passed on a council vote held Jan. 13.

What’s next: Project staff will continue design‑development steps, pursue the project’s GMP, and aim to reimburse the advance from unused contingency or later state reimbursement. The council’s action allows the procurement and design activities that staff say are time‑sensitive to proceed immediately.