Legal Notice – SWP Community School Corporation, Preliminary Determination
NOTICE OF PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION OF
SOUTHWEST PARKE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION
Owners of real property, and registered voters residing in, the Southwest Parke Community School Corporation (the “School Corporation”), are hereby given notice that the Board of School Trustees of the School Corporation (the “Board”), having held meetings and two separate public hearings pursuant to Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.5 and Indiana Code 5-3-1, on May 17, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at the School Corporation’s Central Office, 4851 South Coxville Road, Montezuma, Indiana 47862, adopted a resolution (the “Resolution”) making a preliminary determination to undertake: (i) (a) work on all or a portion of the School Corporation’s Riverton Parke Junior/Senior High School including, but not limited to, boiler improvements, upgrades and replacements, replacement of existing fire pumps, HVAC renovations, improvements, upgrades and replacements, sewage plant renovations, improvements, upgrades and replacements, building and building envelope door, window, wall and roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, media center and art and science room renovations and other related renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs; (b) work on all or a portion of the School Corporation’s Montezuma Elementary School including, but not limited to, boiler improvements, upgrades and replacements, replacement of heating water distribution pumps, replacement of classroom unit ventilators, roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, building door, window, wall and roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, media center renovations, upgrades and improvements, and other related renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs; (c) work on all or a portion of the School Corporation’s Rosedale Elementary School including, but not limited to, boiler and related improvements, upgrades and replacements, replacement of chiller and related pumps, replacement of classroom unit ventilators, building door, window, wall and roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, room wall acoustics improvements, media center and locker room renovations, upgrades and improvements, generator support network upgrades and improvements and other related renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs; (d) athletic field upgrades, including fencing improvements and upgrades; and (e) certain other renovations, improvements, upgrades, repairs, replacements and equipping at all School Corporation facilities ((a) through (e) collectively, the “Project”), and (ii) to the extent permitted by law to take all of the necessary steps to finance all or a portion of the costs of all, of the Project by entering into a proposed lease or leases or an amendment or amendments to an existing lease (the “Lease”) between one or more Indiana school building corporations, as lessor (collectively, the “Building Corporation”), and the School Corporation, as lessee, relating to all or any portion of the school facilities operated by the School Corporation. If a Lease is entered into, the Building Corporation will issue one or more series of ad valorem property tax first mortgage bonds secured by and payable from the lease payments under the proposed Lease (the “Bonds”).
The total maximum original aggregate principal amount of the Bonds will not exceed $11,000,000. The maximum term for the Bonds will not exceed twenty (20) years. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the debt service payments on the Bonds payable from lease rentals under the Lease shall not exceed a term of twenty-two (22) years. Based on the estimated interest rates that will be paid in connection with the Bonds of 5.00%, the total interest cost associated therewith, is $3,810,000, not taking into account any funds of the School Corporation or Building Corporation being available for capitalized interest. The maximum annual lease rental to be paid by the School Corporation under the Lease related to the Bonds is $1,400,000 and the maximum total lease rental related to the Bonds over the term of the Lease is $14,704,000, not taking into account any funds of the Building Corporation available for capitalized interest. The School Corporation’s certified total debt service fund tax levy for 2023 (which is the most recent certified tax levy) is $1,222,189 and the School Corporation’s debt service fund tax rate for 2023 (which is the most recent certified tax rate) is $0.5132 per $100 of assessed value. The School Corporation’s estimated total debt service fund tax levy for 2024 is $1,223,599 and the School Corporation’s estimated debt service fund tax rate for 2024 is $0.5138 per $100 of assessed value. The estimated total maximum debt service fund tax levy for the School Corporation and the estimated total maximum debt service fund tax rate for the School Corporation after the issuance of the Bonds are anticipated to occur no earlier than 2024 and will be $1,223,599 and $0.5138 per $100 of assessed value, respectively, as a result of the payment of the lease rentals under the Lease. The percent of the School Corporation’s outstanding long term debt after the issuance of the Bonds, together with the outstanding long term debt of other taxing units that include any of the territory of the School Corporation, compared to the net assessed value of taxable property within the School Corporation is approximately 5.8%. The estimated completion date of the Project is within three years of the issuance of the Bonds. The Board estimates that there will not be an increase in operational costs as a result of the Project and that operational costs associated with the Project will be $0 per year. The School Corporation does anticipate that the Project may result in some operational cost savings related to a decrease in energy costs.
The estimated amount of the School Corporation’s debt service levy and rate that will result during the following 10 years if the School Corporation enters the Lease, after also considering any changes that will occur to the debt service levy and rate during that period on account of any outstanding bonds or lease obligations that will mature or terminate during that period is as follows:
| Estimated Total | Estimated Total | |
| Year | Debt Service Levy | Debt Service Rate |
| 2023 | 1,222,189 | 0.5132 |
| 2024 | 1,223,599 | 0.5138 |
| 2025 | 979,566 | 0.4113 |
| 2026 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2027 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2028 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2029 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2030 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2031 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2032 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2033 | 939,725 | 0.3946 |
| 2034 | 729,725 | 0.3064 |
The result of the School Corporation’s current and projected annual debt service payments divided by the net assessed value of taxable property in the School Corporation is 0.797%. The result of the sum of the School Corporation’s outstanding long term debt plus the outstanding long term debt of other taxing units in the School Corporation divided by the net assessed value of taxable property in the School Corporation is 5.8%
Petitions requesting the application of the local public question process to the proposed Lease related to the Project may be filed with the Parke County Voter Registration Office within thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the manner provided by Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.5. If a sufficient petition requesting the application of the local public question process to the proposed Lease related to the Project has been filed as set forth in Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.5, the proposed Lease related to the Project must be approved in an election on a local public question held under Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.6. In the event that a sufficient petition requesting the application of the local public question process to the proposed Lease related to the Project has been filed as set forth in Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.5, the question currently recommended by the Board to be submitted to the registered voters at the election conducted under Indiana Code 6-1.1-20-3.6 is as follows: “Shall Southwest Parke Community School Corporation, Parke County, Indiana (the “School Corporation”), increase property taxes paid to the School Corporation by homeowners and businesses? If this public question is approved by the voters, the average property tax paid to the School Corporation per year on a residence would increase by 0.00% and the average property tax paid to the School Corporation per year on a business property would increase by 0.00%. The School Corporation may issue bonds or enter into a lease to finance: (a) work on all or a portion of the School Corporation’s Riverton Parke Junior/Senior High School including, but not limited to, boiler improvements, upgrades and replacements, replacement of existing fire pumps, HVAC renovations, improvements, upgrades and replacements, sewage plant renovations, improvements, upgrades and replacements, building and building envelope door, window, wall and roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, media center and art and science room renovations and other related renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs; (b) work on all or a portion of the School Corporation’s Montezuma Elementary School including, but not limited to, boiler improvements, upgrades and replacements, replacement of heating water distribution pumps, replacement of classroom unit ventilators, roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, building door, window, wall and roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, media center renovations, upgrades and improvements, and other related renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs; (c) work on all or a portion of the School Corporation’s Rosedale Elementary School including, but not limited to, boiler and related improvements, upgrades and replacements, replacement of chiller and related pumps, replacement of classroom unit ventilators, building door, window, wall and roofing renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs, room wall acoustics improvements, media center and locker room renovations, upgrades and improvements, generator support network upgrades and improvements and other related renovations, improvements, upgrades, replacements and repairs; (d) athletic field upgrades, including fencing improvements and upgrades; and (e) certain other renovations, improvements, upgrades, repairs, replacements and equipping at all School Corporation facilities, which is estimated to cost $11,000,000 over 11.3 years.”
EXECUTED this 18th day of May, 2023.
SOUTHWEST PARKE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION
By: D.J. Harkrider, Secretary