By Rumasa Noor
Staff writer
Walworth Joint School District 1 is planning to borrow nearly $7 million to address some of the immediate needs at the elementary and middle schools.
According a press release from the district, the money is needed for maintenance projects that have been delayed for years because of lack of funds.
The Board of Education approved the hiring of Schneider Electric to inspect the areas in need of repair. The company identified 10 specific problems that need to be addressed immediately.
The press release stated the Board of Education “adopted a resolution authorizing general obligation in an amount of $6,805,000” on May 18.
A June 2 public hearing was called and attended by 18 people. Ten out of which were staff members, according to Interim District Administrator Pam Larson.
“The general consensus is that it’s a lot of money to spend on a building that is over 100 years old. They’d rather have a new school built,” Larson wrote in an email. “The most we can legally borrow is $17 million. We are unable to build a new school the size of our current one for that amount. Thus, I don’t see a new school in our near future, and we still have many immediate needs that need to be addressed in the interim.”
According to the release, the School District is using provisions in Act 32 to fund its needs without going to referendum. But if the plan is contested by the residents, that could change.
“We don’t have to go to referendum unless the project is petitioned and the required number of signatures is gathered,” Larson stated in her email. “Even then, the board can decide to borrow less than a million dollars, drop the project or go to referendum.”
Under Act 32, school districts are allowed to borrow money for facility upgrades with certain conditions.
“Districts may raise funds to make necessary repairs as long as they incorporate energy efficiency items into the project that result in energy savings to the district,” the press release stated.
The funding will take care of building and plumbing maintenance, rooftop repairs, mechanical repairs, HVAC and heating improvements, lighting system, airside improvements and energy saving technology upgrades.
The district estimates the energy savings of the improvements to be about $1.5 million over the next 20.
The mill rate increase for the improvements on a $1,000 equalized property value will be about 94 cents, according to the release. That works out to about $141 a year on a $150,000 home.
