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Sumter School District provides bond-by-bond project update; older bonds mostly exhausted
Summary
CFO Shatika Spearman reviewed remaining balances and master-line allocations across multiple bond issues, saying the district prioritizes using older bond balances first and listing outstanding masters for roofing, surveillance, access control and other site work.
Sumter School District officials provided the finance committee a bond-by-bond update that detailed remaining balances for projects authorized in past bond issues and described the district’s process for prioritizing and allocating funds.
Spearman told the finance committee the district is using older bond balances first and that many older bonds are nearly exhausted. "We always try to use the oldest bond available balance first so that we can get that zeroed out," she said.
The nut graf: the report matters because bond proceeds fund facilities and technology work districtwide, and remaining balances — including masters for roofing, surveillance, access control and athletic facilities — will determine which projects can move forward without new bond authorizations.
Spearman walked the committee through individual bond identifiers (for example, bonds labeled 05/24 through 05/33 in the district packet) and noted specific master balances: a district roofing master remaining of about $944,000 in the 05/30 bond and a striping/parking-lot master of about $232,000 in the same bond. Earlier bonds showed small remaining masters for environmental testing, carpeting, painting, fencing and technology disaster recovery. Several bonds retain dedicated masters for Promethean classroom boards, surveillance servers and access-control systems.
At the district level she also noted funds earmarked for recurring items such as environmental testing of storage tanks, drug testing, VRC record storage and activity-bus repairs. For the most recent fall bond (05/33) the district held master-level allocations including multipurpose-room renovation funds, server and signal-booster money and allowances for athletic-field upgrades across high schools.
Board members asked how projects are identified and prioritized. Spearman and other staff said requests come from a combination of facilities/maintenance, information technology and principal input; the bond is intended for facilities and IT. Board member Bonnie Disney referenced a 2018 facilities study that previously guided bond work and suggested an updated facilities assessment should inform future allocations.
Ending: Staff said they will provide an alternative view of the bond report (by location rather than bond) before the next meeting and continue site meetings with principals to confirm needs.
