The Lopez Island School District will have a measure on the Feb. 14  Special Election ballot.

The district is seeking voter approval to issue bonds for the purpose of repayment of a $1 million line of credit obtained in October 2009 to address two critical facility issues.

In the fall of 2009 the district established a line of credit with Cashmere Valley Bank to fund the emergency replacement of a failed fire suppressant sprinkler system at Lopez Elementary School and to continue work on the upgrade of the heating and ventilation (HVAC) system.

The fire sprinkler system is required to keep the school open.

The district’s insurance carrier denied coverage for the costs of replacing the fire sprinkler system, and other alternative funding sources explored by the district required repayment from district funding categories that would have potentially undermined funding for services to students and for district operations.

The repayment of this credit is due Dec. 2012.  School districts are permitted by state law to incur non-voted debt in instances such as this, and repayment of that debt by the issuance of voter-approved bonds is acceptable and frequently utilized.

The annual individual cost to district tax payers for this bond measure will be approximately seven cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, or approximately $21 per year on a $300,000 home and $35.00 on a $500,000 home.  The bond repayment period is projected to be approximately 15 years.

The district has received recommendations from its financial consultants that this is a very good time for this measure, due to historically low interest rates.

The district’s excellent bond rating will allow the district to secure bonds at these very low interest rates to further reduce the tax burden to its taxpayers.

The district is also faced with facility and educational needs and will likely seek further voter-approved bond funding in the near future to address those needs.

Voter approval of the February bond is sought separately from future requests because of the current favorable interest rates and because the district needs more time to fully investigate and develop its capital and educational needs and the estimated cost of meeting those needs.

The district is also separating these requests out of a strong ongoing commitment to the community to be very clear and straightforward about its financial needs and requests.

“We want to be very clear and straight-up with our voters and get this line of credit dealt with, without the potential confusion of multiple projects” said Superintendent Bill Evans.  “Our community is so supportive of its schools and we want to respect that support by being clear and succinct in our requests for additional financial support.”