Taos board hears plan to sell $7 million in bonds as first tranche after 2025 GO approval
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Summary
Taos Municipal Schools staff and Stifel Public Finance recommended a negotiated capital-markets bond sale for administrative flexibility and to issue an initial $7 million this spring to fund deferred maintenance and design work while preserving state PSFA match eligibility for a new middle school.
Taos Municipal Schools trustees on Feb. 11 were briefed on next steps to access funds after voters approved a general obligation bond in November 2025.
Nicholas Kane of Stifel Public Finance told the board that the district faces two broad options to sell debt: a public capital‑markets sale (competitive or negotiated) or a private placement (often through the New Mexico Finance Authority). He recommended a negotiated capital‑markets sale that would give the district timing flexibility and fuller control of bond proceeds, while allowing the district to capture a bond premium to offset issuance costs.
Kane presented a conservative financing plan that assumes no growth in assessed valuation and proposes issuing $7,000,000 in the first tranche to address deferred maintenance across campuses and to provide limited early planning and design funds for the proposed middle school. He said the plan contemplates a roughly $1 increase in the residential mill levy for a multi‑year period, which he estimated at about $33 per $100,000 in assessed value (roughly $100 per year for a $300,000 property, typically paid monthly through mortgages).
Kane warned the board not to issue more bonds than needed before the Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) completes its matching‑fund awards, because starting large construction before an award could jeopardize the state match; awards for the PSFA cycle are expected in late 2026, he said. He described tradeoffs between NMFA financing (lower interest cost but stricter restrictions and less flexibility to repurpose proceeds) and a market sale (slightly higher cost but greater control and potential bond premium).
Dr. Rainier Martins, the district finance director, and Superintendent Antonio Layton told trustees they expect to return in March with an authorizing resolution and legal documents that would delegate limited authority to staff to close the sale within board‑set parameters. Kane said closing could be achievable in May, with transactions coordinated through underwriters and bond counsel. No formal board action was requested at the Feb. 11 presentation.
What happens next: district staff will prepare bond documents and a timeline, issue a request for underwriting qualifications, and return to the board with an authorizing resolution at the March meeting. The board directed staff to provide a clear project priority list for the initial $7 million and to ensure that any state PSFA match requirements are preserved.