Apr. 10—Residents will start to see activity at the Cimarron Plaza in the next few weeks, said Stillwater Public Schools CFO Michael Arnold, as he updated the SPS Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday evening.
The demolition phase should begin the week of April 15.
"That's always exciting — and then it's the long wait until everything's done," Arnold said. "But it's all getting there."
Part of the demolition process, and the path to construction of the new high school, was approving the sale of the 2023 bonds at the meeting, in addition to voting on a sublease purchase agreement to get the "best bang for our buck," Arnold said.
The Board voted on a resolution that will set the general obligation bonds for 2024, the time and place the bonds would be sold and the designation of a registrar and disclosure counsel. They also authorized a clerk to give notice of the sale and to approve anything related to the issuance of the bonds.
Jericha Dawson, SPS's municipal financial advisor, previous CFO at SPS, has continued to work behind the scenes with the 2023 bond issuance.
Arnold said Dawson has helped the district with cash flow and bonding capacity based on its current debt, and has set up a schedule determining what bonds can be sold each year.
"This year, we're able to sell $13 million," Arnold said, adding that is attached to a payment schedule, a determination based on needed funding.
The SPS district will sell its first 2023 bond issues May 14. Those funds would be dispersed to the district as early as June.
The Board also voted to approve a sublease purchase agreement to acquire and finance improvements to school buildings and facilities, in addition to maximum amounts, maximum interest rates and the term of the lease.
In the last bond cycle, the Board authorized a lease purchase to complete the Westwood Elementary School project, Arnold said.
This purchase agreement is different, Arnold said.
"Basically, we're borrowing against ourselves so that we can complete the high school without having to get to the end of the bond cycle to accumulate all the money," Arnold said.
One thing that helps is the return on investments that has boosted spending power, he said. The district's plan is to sell the whole lease purchase bonds and use some of the revenue investments on that to complete the high school project and for $5 million for transportation and equipment.
"This is a big milestone for us, in terms of getting to the part of the bond that we've been waiting for, which is getting that high school construction started," Dawson said, addressing the Board.