Board chooses firm for study

The Cedar Grove-Belgium School Board on Tuesday approved hiring Bray Architects to do its comprehensive facility review.

The district received five proposals for the work. The other companies were McKinstry, Site Logic, Nexus and Abacus.

“That’s a good response,” Board President Chad Hoopman said at the Feb. 12 board meeting.

The board sought proposals after a presentation by Lisa Voisin of Baird in fall. The district has more than $3 million in debt and is slated to be debt free in four years. Borrowing $15 million would keep debt payments flat.

The school tax rate has fallen from $10.03 per $1,000 equalized value in 2016 to $9.44 in 2019. Its rates are lower than the state average, Vosin said.

The last referendum the district held didn’t carry a tax increase, she said. That was in 2010 for $6 million, most of which went to remodel the middle school.

That project came in $3.5 million under budget because the district locked in low interest rates. The rates on the district’s current debt range from 0.275% to 3.125%.

The district has a bond rating of AA, the third-highest attainable, which allows it to lock in low interest rates. While many economic factors are out of the School Board’s control, its fund balance, debt policies, board reporting practices and capital plan impact the rating, Voisin said.