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Facility committee outlines $175 million financial plan; approves priority summer projects including clock, bell and PA replacements
Summary
The Waunakee Community School District facility committee reviewed a long-term debt plan tied to a $175 million program, heard staff projections on debt service levy impacts, and approved priority purchases for summer 2025 including clock/bell/PA system replacements and cafeteria tables.
The Waunakee Community School District facility committee reviewed March 6 a financial plan tied to the district's $175 million construction program and voted to approve a set of priority purchases the district said must move forward to meet summer 2025 timelines.
District staff presented a multi-borrowing plan that includes a $52 million bond anticipation note the board will be asked to approve on Monday night and an earlier borrowing that staff identified at approximately $96 million. Staff said the long-term structure aims for an illustrative 2.1% annual percentage change in the debt-service levy over time, a figure staff said is below the district’s historical net new construction growth of roughly 3% and is achievable only by using project savings and interest earnings identified in earlier phases of the program.
Staff told the committee there are two bond-conversion dates currently modeled: April 1, 2028, and April 1, 2030. Those dates represent targets staff used to time converting short-term borrowings into long-term debt. Staff said state law limits the length of public-school borrowings, which affects how the district structures maturities and debt-service schedules.
On the recommendation of staff, the committee approved a list of priority purchases that staff described as having long lead times or requiring prep work that would be difficult to complete if delayed. The two principal items highlighted were replacement of clocks, bells and the public-address (PA) system at a school listed in meeting materials (separately, the Arboretum and other newer facilities already have modern systems) and purchase of new folding ("pocket") lunchroom tables at Prairie. Staff said the existing system in the older building is antiquated, will not be reusable with the modern system, and that the replacement work requires extensive cabling and roughly 65 wall-mounted clock/speaker devices in the building. Staff said vendor BoboCom (identified in the meeting) could do second-shift cabling to minimize classroom disruption.
Jack (board member) made the motion to approve the purchases "as presented;" a second was recorded and the committee approved the motion by voice vote. Committee members discussed details including table sizing and maintenance implications; staff said some table dimensions have changed and that older tables are in poor condition.
Staff also described the district's approach to timing long-term borrowing: the district’s financial adviser modeled interest-rate scenarios and recommended monitoring market conditions before locking in the remaining long-term debt. Staff said that under current market conditions long-term borrowing would be roughly 4% in illustrative estimates, and that interest-rate movements between now and the two conversion dates could change projected debt service and available savings.
Committee members were reminded staff plans to bring a consolidated, updated financial picture to the full board in April that will add recent savings and interest-earnings into the model and show how the summer 2025 priorities fit within the larger program. The committee approved the priority purchases for summer 2025 and adjourned.
