SOLON — Voters in the Solon Community School District will likely be asked to go to the polls next March to approve a bond issue for several projects. Superintendent Davis Eidahl and representatives of architectural and engineering firm ISG and Piper Sandler (the district’s financial management firm) met with 30 stakeholders to an invitational meeting Wednesday, October 12 to discuss likely projects for the bond referendum. The 30, representing a diverse cross section of the district were chosen as “influential members of the community who others look to for their opinion,” said Sue Peterson, with ISG.
Eidahl stressed the district would be able to sell bonds, and thus incur more debt, without needing to increase the tax levy, which currently sits at $16.28. He noted when voters approved the last bond referendum in 2015 the levy was $16.35. He added a goal of the district, while in a growing community, is to maintain the “small school feel” with a campus environment (school buildings located near each other), and with grade-alike buildings, which was a factor in the construction of the intermediate school in 2017. That project, he noted, was paid for by bonding against sales tax revenue (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education or SAVE funds) rather than through general obligation bonds.
With multiple housing developments in-progress and/or planned, the potential exists for at least 500 new homes/dwelling units in Solon with an anticipated enrollment growth of 500-700 new students over the next decade. And it is that growth, which factors into most of the proposed projects.
The biggest project, Eidahl said, would be an expansion of the intermediate school, which would provide seven new classrooms, a new gym, a dedicated art room, and a dedicated special education room. Currently 216 fourth and fifth graders occupy the building in five sections per grade and with four rooms available. The intermediate school, Eidahl said, was built with future expansion in mind with utilities such as the geothermal system already in-place. He added expanding the building would allow for seven sections per grade from kindergarten through eighth grade, with the benefit of maintaining smaller class sizes.
The second project he described would be updates to Lakeview elementary ranging from new classroom furniture to updating the gym, completion of a roof replacement project, some HVAC work, and parking lot curb and gutter improvements. Eidahl reminded the attendees of a flash flooding situation in 2019 when 5-6” of rain fell in a short period of time, with much of the runoff flowing downhill to the Lakeview site and causing flooding issues inside the building. Currently, Lakeview (preschool through third grade) has 504 students and five rooms available. The kindergarten class is the largest at 137 and is divided into six sections.
Nathan Compton, a project manager with ISG, explained how a team of five engineers did walk-through’s of all of the district’s buildings and documented their findings and opinions.
“It is to a point where Lakeview needs a little love to catch up to the other (newer) buildings,” Compton said.
Earlier this year the district purchased a property on the north edge of town for use as a transportation facility. Eidahl discussed reconfiguring the office and restrooms along with upgrading the building’s HVAC system and making other improvements to the site as the third potential project.
Fourth on his list was an indoor multi-purpose activities facility. Eidahl noted the growth in the district’s athletic and arts programs and pointed out such a facility could be utilized by the community as well.
Fifth on the list was replacement of the turf playing surface in Spartan Stadium. Eidahl noted turf fields have an approximately ten-year lifespan, and Solon’s turf, which is starting to show it’s age, is currently in it’s 12th year.
Projects for future consideration, he said, could include additional playground improvements, a turf practice field, turf for the baseball and softball diamonds, and even possibly upgrades to the former school on Iowa Street, which is now home to the district’s administrative offices and the Solon Community Center. Updates could include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance issues, replacing the old and expensive heating and cooling system, and even perhaps some remodeling work.
A group of interested citizens has been meeting for a few months now discussing what they would like to see in a community/senior citizens center to replace the Iowa Street facility due to it’s deficiencies. Currently the district leases part of the building to the city, but also has priority when it comes to using spaces such as the gym, which leads to scheduling difficulties for the city’s recreation department programs. However, Eidahl noted, the site itself could prove valuable in the future if enrollment numbers increase to where a new school building would be necessary.
Eidahl took a question from a stakeholder about vocational, vo-tech, agricultural, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes. He responded the district is working closely with Kirkwood Community College for such programs, and that the district now has a fulltime counselor working directly with Kirkwood, which offers a number of “academy” programs leading to not only college credit but certification upon successful completion. Also the district now has a fulltime industrial technology teacher (focused currently on Architecture, Construction, and Engineering or ACE) classes; but noted the district is limited due to a variety of factors as to what it can offer students. Partnering with Kirkwood, he said, takes a lot of financial burden off of the district in terms of equipment and technology, and also helps with space in the high school as students attend classes in Kirkwood facilities.
Priorities identified by the attendees, who met in small groups, included: keeping facilities “community friendly,” i.e.: having facilities for the public accessible to the public; including industrial tech spaces at the middle and high schools; ensuring there will be enough staff for any new spaces; putting the addition onto the intermediate school; creating “21st century educational spaces; ensuring there is a clear, consistent message to the public throughout the process leading up to the election; enabling 1:1 (one computer or tablet for every student) learning; putting a focus on preparing students for careers in the trades; and staying ahead of enrollment growth.
Tim Oswald, with Piper Sandler briefly explained the district’s financial situation and debt capacity through bonding. The district, he said, has the benefit of $571 million in taxable valuation, of which 88% is residential property. Also, the district sees about 4% growth in its tax base each year. Currently the district has $19 million in outstanding debt stemming from the 2015 bond issue but would be capable of issuing bonds up to between $25 and 30 million, sold over a four-year period as projects became “shovel ready” while maintaining the current $4.05 debt service levy.
Oswald agreed with Eidahl that, “There won’t be a levy rate increase” if voters approve the bond. “The district has done the financial work to address debt while maintaining the current levy,” Oswald said. He also noted as the district continues to pay down its current debt, and even with taking on new debt, another bond issue could be possible as early as the 2027-2028 school year. He also pointed out the $16.28 property tax levy rate is “near the middle” in comparison to districts surrounding Solon. He added, “The district’s levy rate has been remarkably stable.”
At this point there is no firm dollar amount for the bond issue, however Eidahl said the district has calculated some rough estimates. Once the district’s school board of education crafts the ballot language however, a very specific amount will be stated with the exact projects listed. In other words the taxpayers will not be writing a blank check to the district to spend whenever, however it chooses.
The district will be reaching out to residents for their input and a community-wide survey is expected to go out in early November.
Bond vote likely next spring
October 19, 2022
About the Contributor
Chris Umscheid, Editor
Chris Umscheid is the editor of the Solon Economist.