Forest Grove SD 15 bond program on schedule; second bond sale planned for June

Forest Grove School District 15's bond oversight committee reported the district is on schedule financially and is planning a second bond sale in June as resources from the first sale near exhaustion.

At the committee meeting, staff reported total bond-related resources of about $143,000,000, including approximately $121,000,000 from the initial bond sale plus premium, a grant, and about $3.5 million in interest and rebates. Committee staff said roughly $102,000,000 has been expended or committed to projects, leaving about $41,000,000 uncommitted.

Committee members were told the district has increased commitments by $9.7 million since the December report. Staff said that based on current spending and commitments tied to the first bond sale, the district expects to exhaust the resources from that sale by August and is preparing for a second bond sale, with credit-readiness activity already under way for a June sale.

The committee also reviewed contingency and reserve figures. Staff said the district holds about $7.9 million in contingency and is monitoring project closeouts and upcoming summer work that will shift funds between projects as needed.

Committee vice chair Valerie Ingram said the oversight process is intended to ensure the district "is meeting the bond promise, we're meeting it on time, on budget, and then to ultimately report back to the board on how we are doing and making sure that we are meeting our promises to our community." She also said, "Our goal is to move everything over to the left, and we are off to a really good start 2 years in."

Why it matters: bond proceeds fund multiple school construction, seismic, safety and pre-K projects across the district; timing and pricing of a second bond sale will affect available cash and potential project schedules.

The committee will continue monitoring expenditures, finalize figures as projects close, and present updated financials ahead of the planned June bond sale.