Finance advisor: parameters resolution will complete borrowing for referendum projects; $37.155M draft cited

Mike Clark of Barrett presented the parameters resolution and financing plan the Racine Unified School Board will consider for referendum-authorized projects, telling the April 13 work session that the resolution will complete borrowing for projects that have already gone through the petition process.

Clark said a draft borrowing amount of $37,155,000 was used in the materials and that the exact dollar amount will be justified when the parameters resolution is presented to the board on April 27. He described recent steps including a disclosure-counsel call and an upcoming rating call, and said the district has a revenue stream from the referendum that provides flexibility to time the borrowing to favorable market conditions. "Overall, the financing are we're in good shape," he said.

Board member Mr. Okonnell asked how current borrowing compares with referendum expectations. Clark and district staff said that project estimates have been reconciled since the referendum and that some projects came in under budget or were paid from cash on hand; the presenters said the original referendum amount was about $596 million and that current modeled project totals are likely to fall in the $550–560 million range depending on decisions such as the Park High project. Clark also described potential refinancing and the need to manage a 20-year GEO borrowing limit.

Clark said the district is reconciling cash-on-hand, interest earnings and projects that came in under budget and may use some of those funds to reduce future borrowing or to pay down debt early once projects are complete. He emphasized the plan will be presented with finalized numbers before the board acts.

Next procedural steps: the parameters resolution will be presented to the board on April 27 with finalized dollar figures and the district will seek to lock in borrowing when market conditions are favorable.