Urbandale board hears options to borrow against PPEL and SAVE, weigh Rolling Green reuse and 10-year plan

URBANDALE, Iowa — At a work session Aug. 18, the Urbandale Community School District heard a financial briefing from Piper Sandler representative Tim Oswald on how much the district could borrow without harming operations, what ballot and public‑hearing steps would be required and how that borrowing interacts with a proposed facilities plan.

Oswald told the board the district has a statutory debt limit of about $172,000,000 and roughly $83,000,000 in outstanding debt, leaving a cushion of about $88,000,000. He said the district could borrow roughly $7,000,000 against the voter‑approved portion of the PPEL and about $26,000,000 against the SAVE sales tax if the district adopts a current revenue purpose statement, yielding about $33,000,000 of combined near‑term capacity while still supporting the district’s 10‑year facility plan.

The hearing focused on two legal and procedural points that affect timing: first, Oswald said the board may borrow against only the voter‑approved portion of PPEL and that no election is required for PPEL borrowing; second, he said the legislature rescinded older SAVE revenue purpose statements and required districts to re‑vote new revenue purpose statements effective Jan. 1, 2031 — a step the district has not yet completed. "It would be wise to get that on the ballot and get the voter approval, at…