Palatine District 15 outlines $69 million five‑year facility plan, weighing 40M life‑safety bond
Summary
Palatine CCSD 15 presented a five‑year master facility plan totaling roughly $69 million and discussed financing options including previously authorized non‑referendum working‑cash (D‑sub) bonds and a proposed $40 million health‑life‑safety bond under Public Act 1030591.
Palatine CCSD 15 officials on Monday presented a five‑year master facility plan that rolls major work into summer construction windows through fiscal 2029 and discussed how to pay for roughly $69 million in planned projects.
The plan presented to the board covers routine capital categories — roofs, HVAC, parking lots and playgrounds — and shows large expenditures concentrated in HVAC and roofing beginning in 2027. Elizabeth Hennessy, who presented the plan alongside district staff, said the district spent about $7.9 million on projects this past summer, including $2.5 million on parking lots, and expects roughly $11 million for the coming summer and about $22 million the following year for large ticket items.
The presentation focused on funding options. District staff and financial advisors described three main sources: (1) remaining referendum bonds approved by voters in 2022; (2) non‑referendum working‑cash (D‑sub) bonds, of which the board previously authorized up to $40 million and has issued $14 million so far; and (3) a proposed issuance of up to $40 million in health‑life‑safety bonds enabled by Public Act 1030591.
Why it matters: the board said health‑life‑safety financing would let the district preserve operating funds and the district’s debt‑service extension base (DSEB) capacity for projects that do not qualify as health and life safety, while allowing some HP/roof/HVAC replacements to be paid over a longer term without a voter referendum. Hennessy said the district’s example structure of a $40 million life‑safety issue level‑debt service repaid over 20 years would carry annual debt service of about $3.2 million — roughly 7 cents on the tax rate — estimated at $69 per year on a $350,000 home.
District staff cautioned that the life‑safety route is restricted to replacement of equipment and elements past useful life and other narrowly defined items; it does not authorize broad technology or discretionary upgrades. The approval process requires a life‑safety amendment prepared by the district architect, review and approval by the North Cook service center and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), a public hearing and then a board resolution before bond issuance — a sequence officials estimated can take several months.
On timing, staff advised that the D‑sub authorization runs through August 2026 and that the district expects to issue the remaining $26 million of the $40 million authorization in June/July 2026. Hennessy said an additional $10 million D‑sub could be issued in 2029 as a cushion. She also emphasized that the underlying cost estimates are still being refined; the district’s architects completed 10‑year life‑safety surveys that will be presented to the board next month and could change totals.
Board members pressed staff on prioritization (A/B/C lists from life‑safety surveys) and on which items are immediate “A” projects. Staff said A‑category items were relatively small in this rollup (about $500,000) and much of the plan remains B and C priority work; the district will present a more detailed A/B/C breakdown at the next meeting.
Ending: Hennessy and district leaders told the board the numbers are near‑term working targets and that the board will receive a more detailed life‑safety survey and refined cost estimates at the next meeting. “More to come next month,” staff said.
