Trustees authorize issuance of bonds for new elementary school

Trustees authorize issuance of bonds for new elementary school Image Tammy Vinson Wed, 07/24/2024 - 06:25 Body

Sulphur Springs Independent School District Superintendent Deana Steeber earlier this month provided trustees with an update on the progress of the design portion of the $57.15 million bond construction project approved by SSISD voters in May.

During the regular July SSISD Board of Trustees meeting, Dr. Steeber said she has been working closely with Huckabee Architects, the company responsible for the design and hired to oversee the construction phase of the project, once it begins.

In mid-June, Steeber and trustees visited a handful of schools in the Dallas area that Huckabee has built.

On June 20, department meetings were held to allow staff members to provide their input — “wishes and wants,” Steeber explained.

Steeper targeted mid-July as the date the basic structure of the new building would be narrowed down.

The SSISD project team has also developed a project vision statement and guiding principles.

“Everything we do from this point forward will be tied back to this vision statement and these guiding principles,” Steeber told the board at the July 8 meeting.

The vision statement is as follows: “The elementary schools will honor the inherent value in all people, serve as a safe environments to develop confident, lifelong learners, and foster healthy relationships between students, educators, families and communities.”

The four guiding principles are:

„ The schools will serve as centers for learning, family engagement and community partnership;

„ The schools will inspire meaningful learning experiences and a commitment to personal growth; „ The designs will assure optimal conditions that park exploration and innovation, and promote collaboration and creativity, while supporting teacher and student engagement; and

„ The facilities will respect the community’s approach to financial stewardship and embrace the history and future of the district.”

Later in the meeting, trustees approved an order authorizing the issuance of unlimited tax school building bonds; levying an annual ad valorem tax and providing for the security of said bonds; approving an official statement; authorizing submission of the bonds to the Texas Attorney General; and enacting other provisions related to the subject.

Attorney Jeff Gulbas, a partner in the Dallas office of McCall, Parkhurst and Horton, LLP, told the trustees that his office was handling bonds for three school districts, including SSISD, which was the only district whose voters approved the bond issue.

“We sold $54.10 million in 30-year Triple A bonds, which are backed by the state, at an interest rate of 4.27%, which is really good.”

SSISD is the only school district currently in the market, Gulbas said. The district has just been upgraded by Moody’s, a financial services company that provides credit ratings, research, and analysis to the global capital markets. Moody's is considered a leading credit rating and research firm, and its ratings are often used to predict creditworthiness. SSISD has been upgraded from an A-1 ranking to a AA-3, meaning the district is rated as high quality and very low credit risk. A-1 and AA-3 ratings are believed to have the best ability to repay short-term debt, according to Moody’s website.

Trustees also approved a resolution selecting the Construction Manager at Risk method of delivery for the construction of the new elementary schools and the renovation projects included in the May 2024 bond, as well as the selection criteria and relative weights for the construction manager at risk request for proposal.

The Construction Manager at Risk is a project delivery method in which the owner hires a construction manager to oversee the project from design to construction close-out and deliver it with a guaranteed maximum price provided to the owner prior to the bid stage.

Additionally, Steeber was approved as the authority to receive responses to the RFP, evaluate offers, negotiate with offerers and make a final recommendation to the board for acceptance of the selected offerer and construction contract.

Trustees also approved the prevailing wage rate schedule for Hopkins County as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act as the prevailing wage rate schedule for construction projects associated with the May 2024 bond.

The prevailing wage is a base pay rate established by State and Federal law to ensure that all construction workers engaged in public works projects are paid adequately for the craft they are working in. It is determined by comparing the employer's requirements for the job with the 'normal' requirements for the job.