Keen Analytics: Perris Union High has $21M+ uncommitted, can leverage state grants and potential $187M bond extension

Tarana Alam, manager and director of Keen Analytics, told the Perris Union High School District Board on June 17 that the district has reconstructed two years of bank-account-level financials and currently shows about $21 million in uncommitted capital facilities funds, with broader combined reserves (CFD accounts, Measure T, developer fees and RDA receipts) totaling roughly $41 million.

Alam summarized historic bond spending and project delivery since 2004 — telling trustees the district has completed about $352.1 million in facility improvements funded by measures including Measure K and Measure W — and she reviewed the types of funding the district can use going forward: state grants (new construction and modernization), redevelopment agency (RDA) revenue, community facility district (CFD) surplus, developer fees and locally authorized bond proceeds.

Alam said the district currently shows about $49 million in new-construction state eligibility and about $59 million in modernization eligibility, but she cautioned trustees that state awards are not immediate. She described the typical state process (project design, Division of the State Architect review and OPSC funding application), which can take multiple years and requires local matching funds before reimbursement.

On local revenue, Alam reported approximately $17.8 million in CFD accounts, $10.5 million in Measure T funds, $9.8 million in developer fees and about $3.2 million in RDA revenue. She said developer fees are sensitive to local building activity but estimated roughly $2.5 million in annual developer-fee collections under current development patterns.

Alam and the consultants outlined a possible $187 million tax-extension bond package that, if approved by voters, would likely be issued as multiple series over several years (consultants used a sample issuance schedule to illustrate how proceeds might be phased). Combining existing balances, projected bond proceeds and potential state matches, consultants presented scenarios in which the district could program several hundred million dollars of projects over the coming decade; one illustrative projection presented to trustees showed a combined program approaching $338 million under optimistic assumptions.

Trustees pressed the consultant on restrictions for charter-school funding and on whether seniors can be excluded from an extension. Alam said charter-designated funds typically must be spent at the charter, and she advised trustees to consult the district's state consultant (King Consultants) and financial advisor for eligibility percentages and for feasibility of SFID (special financing districts) or other exclusions, noting that SFIDs have historically been difficult to implement and often unsuccessful.

Alam closed by reiterating the importance of pairing local bonds with state matches where possible, keeping a prioritized list of deferred-maintenance projects (the consultants identified about $65 million in deferred maintenance needs), and preparing strategic cash-flow road maps so the district can pursue reimbursement when state funds become available.

Next steps: trustees directed staff and consultants to use the day's findings to help draft project language for a bond-resolution discussion next month so the board can consider formal action by the July 7 meeting.