Legal Notice – Parke County, SWP Community School Corporation, Notice of Preliminary Determination

NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS

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 August 14, 2024, 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) the construction and equipping of an auxiliary gym at Riverton Parke Junior/Senior High School together with other related improvements, upgrades, equipping, and renovations in connection therewith (the “Project”), to permit such facilities to be utilized for school purposes, 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 amendment to lease (the “Lease Amendment”), amending an Amended and Restated Lease Agreement (the “Original Lease”) between the Southwest Parke Community School Building Corporation (the “Building Corporation”), as lessor, a school building corporation incorporated under Indiana Code 20-47-3, relating to a portion of the school facilities operated by the School Corporation. If a Lease Amendment 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 Original Lease as amended by the proposed Lease Amendment (the “Bonds”).

The total maximum original aggregate principal amount of the Bonds will not exceed $10,000,000. The maximum term for each series of Bonds will not exceed twenty (20) years. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Lease Amendment and the related rentals thereunder with respect to the Bonds will have a term not to exceed twenty-two (22) years. Based on the estimated maximum interest rates that will be paid in connection with the Bonds of 5%, the total interest cost associated therewith, is $7,825,000, 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 Amendment related to the Bonds is $1,380,000 and the maximum total lease rental related to the Bonds over the term of the Lease Amendment is $27,600,000, not taking into account any funds of the Building Corporation available for capitalized interest. The maximum annual debt service for the Bonds is $1,380,000. The School Corporation’s certified total debt service fund tax levy for 2024 (which is the most recent certified tax levy) is $1,245,899 and the School Corporation’s debt service fund tax rate for 2024 (which is the most recent certified tax rate) is $0.4463 per $100 of assessed value. The School Corporation’s estimated total debt service fund tax levy for 2025 is

$1,681,780 and the School Corporation’s estimated debt service fund tax rate for 2025 is $0.6024 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 2025 and will be $1,681,780 and $0.6024 per

$100 of assessed value, respectively, as a result of the payment of the lease rentals under the Lease Amendment. 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 0.6024%. The estimated completion date of the Project is within three (3) 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.

The estimated amount of the School Corporation’s debt service levy and rate that will result during the following ten (10) years if the School Corporation enters the Lease Amendment, 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
2024	1,245,898	0.4463
2025	1,681,780	0.6024

 

2026	1,679,462	0.6016
2027	1,679,462	0.6016
2028	1,679,462	0.6016
2029	1,679,462	0.6016
2030	1,679,462	0.6016
2031	1,679,462	0.6016
2032	1,679,462	0.6016
2033	1,679,462	0.6016
2034	1,681,562	0.6024
2035	1,619,062	0.5800

 

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 7.76%. 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 0.6024%.

Petitions requesting the application of the local public question process to the proposed Lease Amendment 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 Amendment related to the Project has been filed as set forth in Indiana Code § 6-1.1-20-3.5, the proposed Lease Amendment 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 Amendment 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 13.7% and the average property tax paid to the School Corporation per year on a business property would increase by 13.7%. The School Corporation may issue bonds or enter into a lease to finance all or a portion of the construction and equipping of an auxiliary gym at Riverton Parke Junior/Senior High School together with other related improvements, upgrades, equipping, and renovations in connection therewith, which is estimated to cost $10,000,000 over 20 years.”

EXECUTED this 21st day of August 2024. (Adopting Body)

 

SOUTHWEST PARKE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION

By: D. J. Harkrider, Secretary