By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City School District is one step closer to moving forward in the process of building the new high school, Superintendent Ted Haselman told the Bowling Green Kiwanis Club.
He was notified on Feb. 28 that the first of two Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) boards gave the green light for the district to post the Request For Quote (RFQ) for a construction manager. A second board—the controlling board—is expected to vote on March 25. If approved, the RFQ will move forward.
The OFCC approval is necessary for the school district to get the maximum state money for the high school. Haselman doesn’t believe there is any reason the controlling board won’t approve the resolution.
“The rules (to be eligible for approximately $7.5 million in state funds) are not as stringent as some people would make you believe, but certain things have to happen in a specific order,” Haselman said. The OFCC approval is one of them.
The OFCC approval process has slowed down the project by about a month, he said; however, there has been other work going on that is not visible.
“There are no bulldozers, excavators or surveyors,” he said. “There is nothing tangible that has taken place on Poe Road since Nov. 7, but I can assure you that there has been lots of work done behind the scenes.”
In addition to the work with the OFCC, Haselman reported on other work that has been almost simultaneously in the process of starting the project.
The district sold short-term notes, received a high credit rating, sold their bonds for the voter-approved debt amount of $72.8 million and received a better percentage rate than first projected. The school board also approved the relocation of the athletic practice field to make way for the new parking lot and geothermal field.
The district sold a short-term note for $15 million between Christmas and New Year’s as a way “to let your money work for you,” he explained. The interest the district will pay is less than the interest they are going to receive on the $15 million when they pay it off in June when it comes due.
While that was happening, work started on getting a good bond rating, or credit score, he said.
“One thing many people don’t recognize is how similar school funding is to personal funding,” he said. “The only difference is there are a lot more zeros when it comes to school funding.”
During a meeting with Moody’s Investor Services in Chicago in January, the district presented a nearly three-hour snapshot of what BG City Schools are all about. The outcome was phenomenal, with the district earning a AA3 rating, in the top tier of bond ratings.
“The higher the rating, the better chances you have of selling bonds at a lower interest rate to these investment companies. When that happens, we win,” he said.
On the day of the bond sale, Bowling Green City Schools was the only school district selling bonds, which was another plus. Nearly $403 million worth of orders were received at a rate of 5.25 percent. Because the district only needed to sell $72.8 million, they went back to the investors and asked if they would consider a lower interest rate.
“We were able to take that rate down to 4.07%. That is huge,” he told the Kiwanis members. “That will lower our overall payback over the 30 years saving $13 million, which is good for this community.
“The one thing we need to do is to make sure we do this right because everyone is watching. People need to see we are being good stewards of the dollars,” he said.
Haselman also publicly thanked the community and the organizations again that helped pass the bond issue for the Bowling Green City Schools students.
