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Board hears plan for final $29 million bridge loan, completing $53 million in facilities financing
Summary
Ann Noble of Stiffl told the Columbia CUSD 4 board the district will issue $29 million in debt certificates this year as a bridge to funding bonds, completing a $53 million facilities financing program. The board was briefed on timing, tax-rate modeling and next steps; no bond sale was approved tonight.
Ann Noble of Stiffl, the district’s financing advisor, told the Columbia CUSD 4 school board the district will issue a final $29 million in debt certificates this year to complete a $53 million plan to pay for facility improvements.
"We are scheduled to do the last 29 million to get you at a total of 53 million for all of the facility improvements," Noble said, describing a two‑step process in which short‑term debt certificates are sold as a bridge and later replaced by funding bonds.
Noble walked the board through the calendar for approvals: in June the board is expected to approve a resolution for the debt certificates; in July a resolution of intent and the statutory notice will be set; a public hearing follows in August; the funding bonds would be sold in September with final funding in October. She said the timing and the district’s eventual tax rate will depend on final interest rates and the district’s equalized assessed valuation (EAV).
The financing timeline reflects amounts already sold in prior years: Noble said the district sold roughly $10 million in 2023 and $14 million in 2024. Because the $29 million certificate is larger than recent issues, Noble said the district will sell the debt certificate in the public market rather than to a single bank; she added the certificates would typically be outstanding for roughly 90 days before being replaced by funding bonds.
Noble said the plan is modeled on a maximum tax‑rate target shown in the board packet (about $0.80), and she cautioned the right‑hand column in the repayment table would change as the district’s EAV evolves. "All of this obviously being a little dependent on final interest rates and on your actual EAV," she said.
No formal board action on the bonds occurred at the meeting; Noble said the board will be asked to take specific votes at the June–September meetings that form the schedule she outlined.
Next steps: the board is expected to consider a resolution for the debt certificates in June and to follow the schedule Noble described leading to a September bond sale and October funding.
