The Board of Education and administration will convene a special Elementary Facilities Planning Committee in order to research and gather feedback from parents, families, and staff to provide recommendations about the design process for the renovated Mark Twain and rebuilt McGrath Elementary schools. This process, in collaboration with the district's architects and other key stakeholders, will take place over the course of the 2020-2021 school year. When complete, groundbreaking can begin and construction will proceed.
In March, 2020, the St. Louis County Board of Elections requested and was approved to move the April 7th election to June 2nd, 2020. Therefore, Brentwood School District’s Proposition E, a $29 million bond issue, was moved to the June 2nd ballot. This delay has allowed the Board additional time to evaluate the current climate and further work with the community to determine long term strategic financial goals.
In light of the global pandemic and the current and anticipated economic impact, the Brentwood School Board believes it is even more important now to focus on how to achieve the optimum benefit to the District when funds are spent on facilities improvements. To that end, the Board is resolving to incorporate Brentwood Early Childhood Center into one of the elementary schools as part of Proposition E. This will reduce the district’s footprint and operating expenses.The board further resolves that this will be accomplished with Proposition E funds and district resources without asking for additional funding from the community in the future for this endeavor.
While the bond language cannot be adjusted, the Board of Education makes this resolution to affirm our commitment to incorporating the Early Childhood Center into one building upon the successful passage of Proposition E. This investment will allow the district to continue providing quality education for students in neighborhood schools while reducing its footprint and overhead costs in the long term.
Yes, regardless of where the Early Childhood Center is placed, both Mark Twain and McGrath will continue to serve K-5 students, maintaining quality neighborhood schools while still reducing the district's footprint from 4 sites to 3.
A bond issue is a way to borrow money to fund capital projects. This requires voter approval. Capital projects include building new schools, school renovations and certain technology costs. Money generated from bonds cannot be used for salaries or other operating expenses. However, Brentwood currently utilizes some of its operating budget to make continuous capital improvements to old buildings in need of repair and a successful bond issue will alleviate some strains on the operating budget.
The best way to remember how bond money can be used is to remember that BONDS are for BUILDINGS. The passage of a bond issue requires a 4/7ths majority vote, or about 57% voter approval.
When voters approve a bond issue, the school district then obtains bids and sells bonds to the purchaser that offers the lowest interest rate. The district pays back the bond debt over a period of years, typically around 20 years. We use tax money to repay the debt.
This process is similar to a home loan. When you purchase a home, you borrow money at a specific interest rate. You make payments on that loan, which include principal and interest, over a period of years. In order to make those payments, you dedicate a certain amount of your income to retiring that debt.
Funds from Prop E will be used to rebuild McGrath Elementary and heavily renovate Mark Twain Elementary. In particular, Prop E will focus on:
The bond language for Prop E reads:
Shall the Board of Education of the Brentwood School District, St. Louis County, Missouri, borrow money in the amount of Twenty Nine Million Dollars ($29,000,000) for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, renovating, repairing, expanding, improving, furnishing and equipping school sites, buildings and related facilities for school purposes in the District, including, but not limited to (1) construction of a new elementary school and (2) renovations and additions to Mark Twain Elementary School, and issue general obligation bonds for the payment thereof, resulting in an estimated increase to the debt service property tax levy of 47.0 cents ($0.47) per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted debt service levy of the District is estimated to increase from 42.9 cents ($0.429) to 89.9 cents ($0.899) per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of real and personal property.
Operating funds should be used to support salaries and benefits, student costs, utilities, textbooks or other teaching supplies needed to run a school district. While we also use some operating funds for the maintenance and upkeep of facilities, funding larger projects and new construction would demand too much money from our operating fund. That is why borrowing is necessary. Funds borrowed via a bond issue may only be used for capital (building) projects.
Additionally, using the operating budget for capital improvements diminishes our capacity to maintain appropriate cash flow as an organization, making it difficult to meet other financial responsibilities.
Bonds provide a way for the school to get a low interest loan which is funded by outside investors. School bonds are very attractive to investors because it is very unlikely that a school would default on a loan. In particular, the Brentwood bond rating is among the very highest earned. Bonds are interest sensitive. Right now, interest rates are very favorable to schools seeking bond money.
Should Prop E garner the required 4/7 super-majority in order to pass, the next year would be dedicated to a collaborative design process to finalize the new building design and renovations in order to best meet the needs of our community. The district will gather feedback from stakeholders and will work one-on-one with staff and architects to design learning spaces that match our priorities. While we have renderings that show a vision of what can be, the final designs will be created with the community after the June 2nd election.
Construction would be expected to begin in the summer of 2021 with an anticipated completion date between fall and winter of 2022. This allows time for the district and architect team to work with the community to finalize building plans, bid the project to construction companies, and plan for construction to take place. The buildings will be ready for occupancy by late 2022.
The safety and security of students and staff is the district’s top priority. The district is currently managing a construction project concurrent with the school year at the middle and high school. Maintaining safety and security at the elementary buildings during construction will actually be easier due to the nature of the project. Since McGrath is a rebuild, the construction will be taking place next to the structure where students attend class (instead of within the structure itself). At Mark Twain, construction will be organized so that it takes place in parts of the building where no students are active during the school day. Barriers and staff will help keep a clear line of separation between construction areas and where students will be learning.
After the Board of Education resolved to incorporate the Brentwood Early Childhood Center into one of the elementary locations as part of Prop E, the exact funding split is not clear. Should Prop E pass, the district will work with the community to finalize plans of both building sites to ensure the safety, accessibility, infrastructure, and learning space needs of the building are met. The Board recognizes that some compromises will need to be made, but the long term financial benefits and educational benefits for Pre-K students are worth the compromise.
Of all the district’s facilities, McGrath is the only one that was recommended for total rebuild by two separate architectural firms who completed a survey of the site. Due to the way the building was constructed, the entire building must be redesigned to meet current student needs.
Once the design process is complete, the architects will provide bid documents. The bid process will be advertised in multiple locations to ensure we have multiple bidders. The sealed bids will be opened in a public session. The district will interview the two lowest bidding construction companies and select the lowest and the best bid.
The BSD Early Childhood Center currently meets the needs of Brentwood residents with around 20 current openings in various classes within the center. Additionally, the Center was designed to be able to adapt to changing enrollment needs. For example, this past year, two new classrooms were opened in the Center by rearranging the current space. The BSD Early Childhood Center offers a quality program that is sought after by families. Should Prop E pass, the new elementary buildings will also be potential locations for Early Childhood classrooms should the need arise.
Without a bond issue passing in the near future, Brentwood may lag behind neighboring districts. Needed updates to our facilities can have an impact on student learning. While we will continue to allocate our funds towards facilities and capital improvements as needed, we cannot move at the scope and pace necessary in order to stay competitive without a bond issue. This delay may impact families who are considering moving into our district, which in turn affects property values and opportunities within our community. Issues with our buildings will not go away by themselves.
The election that includes Prop E will take place on June 2, 2020 after an order by the Governor to delay as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. In order to pass, a bond issue like Prop E requires a super-majority of 4/7 or about 57% in favor.
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https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/goVoteMissouri/howtovote#Absentee
https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/govotemissouri/localelectionauthority
https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri//2019AbsenteeBallotrequestformfillable.pdf”