Facilities Committee discusses school bond, project costs

Potential remodel and construction costs, as well as additions for the Ritzville School District, were presented at the third Ritzville Facilities Committee meeting on Oct. 19.

Those members in attendance viewed the potential project costs and bond options while working to determine what to present to voters on the February ballot.

Ritzville residents are currently paying the last of the previous bond, which led to the construction of Gilson Gymnasium.

As the current bond expires, Superintendent Rob Roettger said it is an opportune time to present to voters about the needs of the district and district renovations that could be completed.

During the meeting, Roettger provided those in attendance with cost estimates for the list of potential projects to be completed in the district. He explained a 1.5 percent inflation cost had been built in on an estimated four percent gross annually per assessed valuation, based on the historical average.

Roettger presented the expected project costs for all of the individual projects. He began with the list of miscellaneous projects needing to be completed in the near future.

The miscellaneous projects total an estimated $1,510,000 with the technology portion built in. Without the technology portion, the projects accumulate to $1,010,000.

The list of miscellaneous projects includes new roofs on Gilson Gym and the Ag shop; underground sprinklers on the entire school district grounds, including the football field; pavement, parking lot and drainage work around Gilson Gym; resurfacing the tennis courts; Ag shop upgrades including windows, doors, locks and updated equipment; security upgrades; playground equipment; fencing; and new flooring and carpet at the Ritzville Grade School.

Roettger moved on to discuss the remodel potential at the Ritzville Grade School. The facility is in considerably better condition than the high school, and Roettger explained the grade school can continue to manage with only a remodel.

The grade school would continue to use the current boiler for heating, but Roettger explained the plan is not to use the existing boiler for the high school. If the bond is passed, the high school would have a new HVAC system for heating and cooling of the building.

At the grade school, Roettger said the estimate for a remodel would cost between $2-2.5 million. The long range plan after the initial remodel would be eventually to do a full remodel or build new in the future.

With the high school, Roettger explained the facility is eligible for up to a 90 percent state match for 20,000 square feet. The district is allotted a percentage of square footage based on the amount of students in the facility, but the Gilson Gym square footage counts as a portion of the high school total. The current high school is around 32,000 square feet.

Roettger said for a full, extensive modernization of the high school, it would cost an estimated $10 million. If the school district received a 90 percent state match, the district would be responsible for paying around $5.38 million.

A “new-in-lieu” high school with a square footage of 20,531 would have a total estimated project cost of $8.8 million. If the district received a 90 percent state match, the district would be responsible for just over $4.2 million.

For a “new-in-lieu” high school with a practice gym, for a total square footage for 30,531, it would cost roughly $11.6 million. If the district received 90 percent state match, the district portion of the project cost would be $7 million.

If the district completes a new 30,000 square foot high school, the total project cost is $12.2 million. The total project cost includes the demolition of the existing building. If the district received 90 percent state match, the district would be responsible for paying $7.6 million.

The final component of the potential bond projects is the upgrading of the Ritzville School Districts transportation cooperative buildings. Because the district is part of a cooperative, the district is eligible for the 90 percent state match on the project. The total project would cost the district $2.8 million.

The facilities committee also received information on the total cost per assessed property valuation. The numbers were based on a 15 and 20-year bond in order to see potential options for the bond. Roettger noted the longer bonds have a higher interest rate, and asked committee members to take that into consideration.

The members of the facilities committee completed a survey after receiving all of the information and were asked to rank the projects by importance if money were not a factor and if money was a factor.

The members also wrote if the bond amount they believed the community would be willing to pay, as well as the length of the bond.

For an $8.03 million bond over a 20-year term, the bond levy rate would be $1.80. Based on a 20-year term for a $10 million bond, the rate would move up to $2.21.

For an $8 million bond over a 15-year term, the bond levy rate would be $2.20. Based on a 15-year term, the rate would move up to $2.70 for a $10 million bond.

Roettger reported the results of the survey to the Lind-Ritzville School Board of Directors on Oct. 26.

On average, the members of the committee voted in favor of a bond ranging between total collections of $8-10 million from taxpayers.

The members of the committee were divided in whether the bond should run for 15 or 20 years.

The list of priorities from the members ranked the high school and grade school in the top two, with the addition of a practice gym being the third ranked project.

The miscellaneous projects were not on the priority list, but members were reminded to keep those costs in mind when ranking their top projects.

Currently, the Ritzville School District bond is collected at $1.03 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. The district’s current Maintenance and Operations (M&O) bond is being collected at a rate of $2.88.

The M&O bond for the district will also appear on the February ballot, and Roettger explained the district intends to leave the collection amount the same.

The Facilities Committee will meet again in November to finalize the bond projects the members believe should appear on the ballot. The school district must submit a resolution of the bond to the county by Dec. 7.

If the bond passes in February, Roettger explained the grade school remodel would be completed in the summer of 2016, and the high school in 2017.

For more information on the bond projects, contact Roettger at [email protected] or at 650-7271.