Board of Education Special Meeting

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m.

All members of the board were in attendance.

There were no changes to the agenda.

Mr. Predovich with SHP was available via Zoom to answer any questions the Board may have before voting. 

He explained to the Board members that the motion this morning is to approve the first step to move forward so that the documents can be completed and ready for the OFCC. He shared that the OFCC has opened an off-cycle commission meeting. Voting on this resolution today is the first step, the OFCC will meet for a January commission meeting and will approve 2nd segment of the master plan.  Then it will go to the OFCC committee meeting which will reserve the state share of funding for our project, securing the funding as shown on the 2nd page of the attached NOCA  package. Mr. Predovich explained that the initial amount needed to complete the proposed project was more until we received the revised enrollment study completed by Future Think. Enrollment counts were adjusted lower which, in turn, reduced the amount of square footage needed and lowered projected costs. Local funded initiatives (LFI) est $9M will be used in 2 places - 1 for additional square footage for academic space and 2nd is for $7M holding for inflation protection. The 2025 cost is unknown and we want to ensure that the district also has funding for material upgrades from the design. Available remaining funds can be used for renovations to the existing HS building - roofing, natatorium, auditorium, and gym areas. Noca is only concerned about the project's total State and local funding. Mr. Predovich shared that the bond will be based on $23.3M. The  OFCC says we should be a K-12 single building. New enrollment studies were required due to the delayed project. The revised enrollment projections have reduced the size we need to build, reducing the total cost of the new building project. After the new high school is funded, the balance of the locally funded portion of the funds will support what the district will and can do for the large areas of the existing HS that are staying and a possible tear-down of a portion of the existing HS.  The Board will need to have a clear message for the community. The LFI amount will need to be itemized by item and that message will need to be clear for the campaign committee to communicate to the community. With the LFI funds included, the state is still picking up over 50% of the entire project. That and the lower project cost unlock the ability for the board to borrow.

The Resolution of Necessity will be voted on at the Organizational meeting on January 9th and delivered to the county auditor with the total amount we need to collect - The county auditor will determine the initial millage and that will be represented in the ballot language. the second resolution will contain ballot language and once approved will be delivered to the Board of Elections so it can be included on the ballot for the May elections. 

The meeting adjourned at 7:46 a.m