Board approves $7.5M lease‑purchase to fund safety and facility upgrades
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Summary
The Casa Grande Union board approved a parameters resolution to solicit up to $7.5 million in lease‑purchase financing to pay for intercom upgrades, science classroom renovations and bathroom repairs; the board delegated bid selection to administration.
The Casa Grande Union High School District board approved a parameters resolution on Feb. 9 authorizing staff to solicit bids for up to $7.5 million in lease‑purchase financing to address several priority facility projects.
Superintendent Mister Lavender framed the request as a response to unmet capital needs after the district’s bond election did not pass. Executive Director Missus Price introduced Michael LaValle of Stifel Public Finance, who said the parameters resolution would allow staff to send a term sheet to banks and solicit pricing quotes over a roughly two‑week period.
"With your permission tonight, that resolution allows us to move forward with this process to solicit pricing quotes from banks," LaValle said, explaining the structure as a lease purchase secured by the district’s promise to appropriate annual payments rather than property‑tax backed bonds. LaValle provided a placeholder estimate of a 10‑year repayment with level payments at roughly $922,000 per year at a 4 percent placeholder rate, subject to market pricing.
Board members asked several procedural and financial questions, including whether the loan uses the building as collateral, prepayment penalties and how the board would review bids. Special counsel Jim Gill (Gus Rosenfeld) clarified that the resolution delegates authority to district administration to accept a selected bank bid and that staff would provide a summary of bids for informational purposes rather than returning for formal board approval of the selected bank.
Trustee questions also revealed a typographical error in a draft attachment that referenced an unrelated "Pinewood Fire District"; counsel and staff acknowledged it was a template typo and said it would be corrected in final documents.
A motion to approve the resolution (with corrected wording) passed by roll‑call vote; members present voted yes. LaValle said the district expects to have funds available in March according to the solicitation timeline, contingent on bank responses and due diligence.
Because the resolution delegates acceptance of specific financing terms to administration, the final interest rate, prepayment terms and exact lender will be determined at the bid‑selection stage and reported back to the board in a summary of proposals.