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Elmhurst D205 holds public hearing on $8.5M working‑cash and $15M life‑safety bonds; board to consider resolution Nov. 18
Summary
District finance staff presented proposed working‑cash bonds ($8.5M) and school fire prevention/safety bonds (approx. $15M) at a public hearing; presenters said the proposal would fund life‑safety projects and preserve a stable tax rate while covering capital work identified by the regional office and the district.
Joe (district finance staff) presented a public hearing to the Board of Education on Oct. 21 outlining two proposed bond issues: up to $8,500,000 in working cash bonds and approximately $15,000,000 in school fire prevention and safety (life‑safety) bonds. The board opened the hearing at 7:12 p.m., received the presentation, and recorded no public comments for the hearing.
Joe said the district has two financing objectives: maintain stable operating capacity through working cash bonds linked to the debt service extension base (DSEB), and fund life‑safety projects identified in the district's 2024 building surveys and verified by the Regional Office of Education. He told the board that initial estimates of a full A/B/C life‑safety list were just over $30 million in August; after Regional Office adjustments the current estimate of required A/B/C work is just over $20 million, and roughly $15 million in life‑safety bonds would fund about 71 percent of the remaining items. The remainder would be addressed through the district's annual capital project budget (about $1.2M per year), Joe said.
Joe said the plan is structured to keep the district's debt‑service tax rate “relatively flat” for a typical homeowner compared with the current schedule, and that bond interest rates will be finalized after the district secures a bond rating with Raymond James in advance of a planned Nov. 18 board resolution. He described the statutory categories used by the Regional Office (category A: must be addressed within 12 months; B: within 5 years; C: recommended items not required) and noted that some Category C items were removed because they did not meet the Regional Office's energy‑savings thresholds.
The board noted prior finance committee review and consultant support (including a community impact review by an outside consultant). No action was taken that night; Joe said the board will be asked to approve a bond resolution at the Nov. 18 meeting if no successful petition is filed during the 30‑day petition period.
No members of the public spoke at the hearing. Board members reiterated that the district's public materials will show examples of homeowner impacts and that staff will return with final bond sizing and interest estimates after the district secures its rating.
