Henderson County board approves up to $18.69 million bond issue to fund HVAC and capital projects

The Henderson County Board of Education voted Nov. 17 to authorize a general obligation bond issue estimated at $18,690,000 to finance school construction and equipment needs, including an HVAC replacement at South Middle School.

Kelly Merced of Baird, the district’s financial advisor, told the board the estimate is preliminary and that the sale will be competitive. “We are estimating to borrow about 18,690,000 of bonds,” she said, adding the plan includes a 5% construction contingency and an estimated cost of issuance under $121,000. Merced said the district intends to apply about $2,700,000 in cash toward the project to reduce the principal the district must borrow.

Under the timeline presented, the district will post a bond offering statement on Nov. 25, hold a competitive bond sale on Dec. 2 (10:30 a.m. Central), and close the issue Dec. 18. Merced said the board’s resolution delegates necessary authority to execute bond documents and references Kentucky law (KRS 66 dot 4 8 0) for investment of bond proceeds.

Superintendent Doctor Lawson moved to accept the resolution as presented; the board approved it by voice vote. Lawson said the measure protects the district’s ability to proceed with prioritized facilities work while preserving future capacity: Merced noted that, with the new issue, the district would still show approximately $30,000,000 of resulting capacity for other projects.

The resolution authorizes the issuance of general obligation bonds, sets parameters for the principal amount and contingency adjustments, and delegates final details to board officers and advisors at the time of sale. The board did not record roll-call vote counts in the transcript; the action was approved by verbal ayes from trustees.

Next steps: Baird will post the offering statement Nov. 25, the competitive sale is scheduled for Dec. 2, and the bond closing is scheduled for Dec. 18.