Board preliminarily approves lease amendment for 2026 school facilities project, schedules April hearing

Jeff Quackenbush, a bond attorney with Martin and Bloomberg, told the school board the effort to advance a lease-financed 2026 secondary school building and facilities project cleared a required 30-day period without a petition and is ready to move to the next steps.

"We made it through the 30 day request period on the 2026 project, and no petition was filed requesting you go through any sort of additional community approval process," Quackenbush said, explaining the schedule for the lease-financing process and subsequent notices.

The board previously adopted a preliminary determination resolution on Feb. 2 for the 2026 project for an amount not to exceed $16,230,000 with a repayment term of roughly 20 years; Quackenbush said the next steps include setting a second public hearing on April 13 for the lease amendment, publishing a notice of execution, and observing a final 30-day waiting period before closing the financing. David Henson, the district’s construction representative, said phase 2 work will be bid later in the spring and that bond proceeds will be sold in mid-summer with a July closing depending on cash-flow and bid results.

Speaker 14 moved to accept the resolution confirming the eighth amendment to the lease; speaker 13 seconded the motion and the board approved it by voice vote. The board did not receive a petition during the 30-day request period and will take public comment at the April 13 hearing before finalizing any lease execution.

The board’s action at the meeting was a preliminary approval required by the lease-financing process; a final decision will follow the April public hearing and the required publication and waiting period.