School moves forward with building plans

Posted 5/03/12 (Thu)

School moves forward with building plans
By ALLAN TINKER
Questions and answers on the bond issue were the main focus of the special Turtle Lake-Mercer School District meeting regarding the school building issue on April 24.
Scott Wegner, bond consultant for the school, explained that the interest rates and terms are set on the bonds, as well as term length. Each year the needed payment amount is certified to the county auditor and they convert the amount to the needed mills and property values at that time. If values go up, mills are likely to be lower.
The bond fund levy and the building fund levy are completely separate, Wegner added. “The general obligation bond is above and beyond anything else. The only limit is the five percent of assessed value, which is currently $3,650,000 minus the remaining Q-ZAB bond amount that is outstanding.”
General obligation bonds require 60 percent of the voters to approve; to increase the debt limit from five to ten percent requires only a majority vote.
If the bond issue fails, the school district must wait three months to go back to the voters. These may take place only twice in one year. For example, if the district has a vote in June of 2012 and it fails, the next earliest voting would be in September of 2012. The next revote would need to wait until June of 2013, with another vote after that available in September of that year.