Manatee School Board briefed on proposed up-to-$150M certificates of participation to build two elementary schools

Manatee County School Board members heard a detailed briefing on Friday about a planned 2025 certificates of participation (COPs) issuance to finance two new elementary schools.

PFM's Laura, accompanied by senior underwriter Tom Kai and bond counsel Ratesh Patel of Raymond James, told trustees the district is positioned to borrow next spring as market rates have softened since a year ago. The presentation identified two projects to fund — Artisan Lakes Elementary School and Ry Ranch Elementary School — each budgeted at about $70 million, for a combined project fund of roughly $140 million. The bond resolution staff presented would authorize a not-to-exceed par amount of $150 million to give the district a cushion if project costs shift.

Why it matters: district staff said the borrowing would pay for construction while limiting immediate pressure on the capital millage. Presenters noted the district currently levies a 1.5-mill capital tax and is using about 0.292 mills of that capacity for existing COP debt; Florida law allows up to 75% of that levy to be used for lease-purchase/debt service. Presenters advised conservative spacing (they recommended keeping coverage well below the legal maximum) to preserve flexibility if assessed values or revenues decline.

Key details: the PFM team modeled two structuring alternatives. A level principal-and-interest structure for the new money produced higher near-term millage impacts but lower overall interest costs; an aggregate or "wrapped" structure would spread payments and reduce the millage requirement in peak years while increasing total interest expense. The analysis used a conservative assumed true interest cost near 4.16% and included a final-maturity window out to mid-2044–2045. The proposed resolution would cap the underwriter's discount at 0.4% and set a true-interest-cost not-to-exceed of 5%.

Board process and next steps: staff said the board will see a formal item in October to set the COP parameters and to authorize staff to move toward sale in early 2025. No vote to issue debt occurred at the workshop; presenters described the briefing as preparation for later action.

Quotes: "We're going to look at the upcoming issuance of the series certificates of participation and give you an overview where the district stands with their debt," PFM's Laura said during the presentation. On the district's existing capacity, a board member asked for clarification: "so we Levy a 1.5 mil Capital Tax and the law says that we can use up to 75% of that... but we're only using 0.292 of it so we've got about a mill or so left," the member said; the advisers confirmed the remaining capacity and recommended conservative use.

What to watch: staff flagged November–January budgeting and rating-agency timing as factors for issuing; they also noted call dates and refunding opportunities (typical 10-year call protection on many issues) that could affect future savings. The board will consider a formal parameters resolution in October with final market execution expected in early 2025.

Ending: the board did not take a vote at the workshop; staff said they will return with the formal COP parameters and an action item in the coming months for board consideration.