From the Richmond Palladium-Item:
Richmond Community Schools could be headed toward borrowing $8 million in 2013 to pay for what the administration is calling overdue building upgrades and repairs.
But school board members agreed Wednesday that they should meet in work session to scrutinize the necessity of each project.
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RCS plans to sell that scenario by telling the community that borrowing funds will stabilize the tax rate, which is currently at 64 cents per $100 assessed valuation. That would be possible because the school corporation has seven months remaining on payments on bonds that paid for the renovation of Test Intermediate School in 2003.
RCS is also paying on a pension bond through January 2020 with costs totaling $12,939,841, but the administration believes many of these projects cannot wait until then.
That scenario also would not lower the tax rate.
“I don’t want to lie to the public,” board member Jeff Slifer said. “We’re not doing this and not raising the tax rate.”
Board members said each project merits discussion, but Slifer and Board President Kelly Baumgartner mentioned the Charles project in particular.
“We just closed three schools,” Baumgarnter said, referring to the cost-cutting master plan that closed Garrison, Highland Heights and C.R. Richardson elementary schools due to ongoing enrollment and revenue decline.
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http://www.pal-item.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012311280017&nclick_check=1
