HANCOCK COUNTY — Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation plans to grow the band, choir, art and cafeteria space at its middle school.
Greg Elkins, chief financial officer for Mt. Vernon, said during a school board meeting last week that the proposed maximum expenditure for the projects is $5,350,950.
“The design layout and current square-footage are not conducive to viable curriculum in those academic subjects, nor can the cafeteria space accommodate enrollment growth without having multiple lunch periods, which is a definite scheduling challenge and alters the daily routines significantly,” Elkins said.
The project will add 2,000 to 2,500 square feet to the cafeteria, remodel 1,200 square feet and add 250 square feet in the band and choir area, as well as add 800 square feet to the school’s art space.
Financing for the improvements will be part of the same bond issue that will also fund the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, roofing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning improvements at school buildings across the district announced earlier in April. The maximum financing for that project is just more than $16 million.
The second and final public hearing on those projects was on April 20, during the same meeting as the first and only public hearing on the middle school projects.
Elkins explained in an email that while the middle school improvements and district-wide building improvements will be financed under one new bond series, they’re split into two projects because they address different needs — one being larger and capital in nature, while the other is academic in nature. They’re also both subject to different timelines and requirements.
Combining the two sets of projects would also have resulted in a total price that would have forced the school corporation to hold a referendum, something Mt. Vernon leaders did not want to pursue, Elkins continued.
“We believe smaller, prioritized projects are more fiscally responsible,” he added.
Elkins also said the middle school project will allow the corporation to develop a design and construction management team that could potentially work to address the corporation’s long-range growth plans it has shared with the community over the past several months.
The district-wide improvements, on the other hand, will be managed by roofing and systems contractors who could not serve as construction managers on brick-and-mortar work, Elkins continued.
The April 20 public hearing, which was streamed online, drew one emailed comment, part of which asked why the concerns about the middle school weren’t taken into consideration during its extensive renovation that was finished last year.
Jack Parker, Mt. Vernon superintendent, said the objective of that project was to allow eighth-graders to move into the building from the high school.
“The good news is what we really need to do and what sparked this is to increase the size of the band and choir room, and that’s right next to the cafeteria, Parker said. “So for a few more dollars, we’re able to do that, which will allow the middle school to schedule lunch in the middle of the day as opposed to having brunch or late lunch.”
Luke Bruggeman of Stifel Financial Corp. in Indianapolis, which is assisting Mt. Vernon with financing the projects, said timing the new bond issuance as the school corporation finishes paying off some debt while refinancing other debt should result in a minimal impact to the district’s taxpayers.
The district’s debt service tax rate for 2020 is 1.09. Under Mt. Vernon’s plan for the upcoming projects, the rate would go up slightly to 1.12 with the new bond issuance starting in 2021. That’s the same debt service tax rate the district had in 2019.
Bruggeman expressed confidence in the bond market amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re getting back to more of a normal,” he said. “I think some of the initial shock has gone away from COVID-19… The market’s starting to stabilize a little bit.”
Mt. Vernon Community School Board members unanimously approved several resolutions needed to put the financing for the projects in motion.
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Mt. Vernon Middle School improvements
- Add 2,000-2,500 square feet to cafeteria
- Remodel 1,200 square feet and add 250 square feet to band and choir area
- Add 800 square feet to art space
- Proposed maximum expenditure: $5,350,950
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