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Peoria Unified committee formed to craft possible bond/override

Posted 2/18/20

The Peoria Unified School District has formed an advisory committee tasked with analyzing the need for a bond and/or override and possibly recommending a proposal to the governing board.

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Peoria Unified committee formed to craft possible bond/override

Posted

The Peoria Unified School District has formed an advisory committee tasked with analyzing the need for a bond and/or override and possibly recommending a proposal to the governing board.

The committee will likely work to get a proposal on the ballot for the general election in November. 

The first meeting was held Feb. 12.

The committee’s next meeting will be 4-6 p.m., Feb. 26, with about two meetings a month through April. The meetings are open to the public. To learn more about meetings, visit peoriaunified.org/Page/124

The school board would need to vote on a recommendation from the committee in May in order to get a measure on the ballot this year.

Bonds are loans made to the school district, which are used to purchase capital items and/or make   improvements to existing facilities, as well as fund new schools. An override pays for people and programs.

Over the last few years, funds have tightened due to the failure of a $189 bond in 2018 and a $198 million bond in 2016.

A bond authorization is in place for 10 years, and bond proceeds from a bond sale need to be expended within three years of the sale date.

The district’s last bond sale of the 2012 bond election came last July. The district has fully utilized the remaining bond authorization, and has only about $17 million in bond proceeds left.

The final 2012 bond funds will go to the following: security/safety projects, roofing, fencing, heating, ventilation air conditioning (HVAC), energy management systems, parking lot renovations and purchase of student transportation vehicles.

The new advisory committee will have resources that past bond/override committees did not have — District officials are about to complete a facility utilization and capacity study that will help prioritize needs related to the remaining bond dollars as well as needs for future bond authorizations.

Philip Haldiman can be reached at 623-876-3697, phaldiman@newszap.com, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.