North County considers April bond issue

The North County Board of Education will decide on Wednesday whether to move forward with an April bond issue.

For months now, district officials have talked about putting a $2.8 million no-tax increase bond issue on the ballot in April.

The district would use $2.3 million of the funds to pay off the lease purchase for the high school from 1990. The remaining $500,000 would be used to boost their capital project fund balances and do projects on their priority list.

The district has about $480,000 left from the $12.2 million bond issue which also can be used for capital improvements.

Superintendent Dr. Terry Gibbons has said there are about $750,000 worth of repairs and improvements to tackle just at the middle school.

Gibbons said they haven’t been able to consider this before because the high school lease is not callable until April. By doing this, the district could become eligible for a designated levy and free up about $630,000.

The filing deadline to put the issue on the April 5 ballot is Jan. 25.

If the district were to place the issue on the ballot, it would be similar to the issues West County and Central school districts passed earlier this year.

The North County Board of Education will have their regular board meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the administrative office, located at 300 Berry Road. The meeting is open to the public.

Other items on the agenda include the district annual performance report, student achievement software, middle school concert band trip, purchase of district vehicles, performance contract bid, and additional property liability coverage.