NEW BREMEN — The vision of a new elementary school building came into sharper focus Wednesday night when the board of the New Bremen Local School District voted to approve the language of a resolution to spur into action the sale of bonds — up to $14,365,000 worth.
When those bonds are sold, an additional $5 million state grant will help expand the current high school complex on East Monroe Street. The process began May 2 when district voters passed a 30-year 8.46 mill property tax levy. The owner of a $100,000 home will pay $261 per year for construction and $30 to $35 per yer for permanent improvements.
Bob Paul, school board president, said, “Before we can sell bonds, we had to adopt language of all the details.”
Those details were outlined in a nine-page entry in Wednesday’s meeting agenda. Paul said a New Bremen contingent will travel to Chicago in late July to meet with Moody’s Investors Service and establish a credit rating for the school system. That rating will enable a broker to sell the bonds.
Scott Bertke, the only current board member who served through two voter turn-downs before the levy passed, said, “All the bonds have to be sold before construction can begin.” He added that the bonds “should sell relatively quickly” in as few as two weeks through the brokerage of Robert W. Baird & Co.
New Bremen has used Baird for other school financial actions, according to Paul. After the bonds are sold and Ohio’s state contribution is secured, a nine-to-12-month design process begins, said Bertke. “We choose an architect, hire a contractor, design the building and decide on a project delivery method.”
At the July meeting of the board, members will vote on one of four project delivery methods. They differ on specifics to decide schedules, pricing, supervision and control, design details and other aspects of construction. The building is to be completed for the 2020-21 school year.
In other matters approved Wednesday, the board accepted an $86,704 donation from Crown Equipment Corp. to upgrade the school auditorium lighting and support academic programs.
Among proposals from Andrea Townsend, superintendent, teachers will get a 1.75 percent pay raise but will see an increased health insurance copay, rising from 10 to 11 percent.
Jill Ahlers, treasurer, gained approval to modify budgeting methods for the next school year, anticipating a cut in state revenue.
And last. Townsend reported that New Bremen is enforcing a nutrition standards policy of Ohio law that governs the types of food and beverages sold on school premises.
