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DA Davidson outlines Freeman’s borrowing capacity and schedule as stadium RFPs move forward
Summary
DA Davidson reviewed capital outlay certificates, saying Freeman School District’s 2024–25 taxable valuation ($516,933,329) yields a 3% borrowing cap of $15,482,799 and a 1.5% no-referendum per-project limit of $7,741,399; RFPs for a stadium project were posted with proposals due June 27.
Bethman of DA Davidson presented the district’s options to finance capital projects using capital outlay certificates, describing statutory limits, referendum thresholds and example financing outcomes.
Using the district’s 2024–25 taxable valuation of $516,933,329, Bethman calculated the 3% statutory cap would permit borrowing up to $15,482,799 for capital improvement projects; a per-project 1.5% threshold not subject to referendum was shown as $7,741,399. He described that certificates can carry terms up to 20 years and gave an example 20‑year $4 million financing with a projected closing in March 2026, a modeled true interest cost of 4.68% and an estimated maximum annual payment near $316,625. Bethman also noted that premiums paid by investors could add proceeds to the project fund under common structuring practices.
Bethman explained legal and procedural elements: capital outlay certificates require a majority vote of the board (unlike general obligation bonds that may require different thresholds), and borrowings above 1.5% of taxable valuation would be subject to public hearing and referendum. He recommended involving bond counsel and outlined participant roles (architect, construction estimator, bond counsel, underwriter and paying agent).
District staff reported that RFPs for the stadium project have been posted and several engineering firms visited the site; proposals are due June 27 at 2 p.m. Administration said proposals will be reviewed at the July board meeting. Angelie (district administration) said she favors paying some costs from capital reserves and placing some in certificates or CDs to save interest, and asked DA Davidson to provide payment-plan scenarios once a project cost is identified.
Next steps: staff will review RFP responses at the July meeting and bring back financing options contingent on final project scope and costs. The presentation provided the legal framework and numerical examples; the board made no binding financing commitment at this meeting.
