At a special meeting Wednesday, Oct. 26, the Waynoka Board of Education listened to presentations from construction manager Kris Richardson, architect John Merz, and financial consultant Jordan Smith.

The agenda item: “... discussion and possible action on possible future construction projects and financial considerations for construction ....”

What they hope to build: an indoor track and classroom, a new bus barn, and several other improvements.

The current bus barn is too short: one of the buses sticks out of it by a good 4 or 5 feet, and the door can't be closed. Other problems with the bus barn were also raised.

Cline spoke enthusiastically about improvements that could be made: the current tech ed building is at least 60 years old, he said, and was brought over from another school, so there's no telling how old it actually is. “We could get rid of that building, add onto the school so that tech ed and the stem lab would move over here (to the high school building).

“We have a current science classroom and it's not near big enough. This would allow us to do science experiments. Then our band room is behind the white building, and this will let us put up a covered walkway and restrooms next to it.”

He asked for comments from the board, and then said, “To me, the thing I don't want to give on is the track.” As things are, students are forced to run either in the road or on the treadmill. “The indoor facility will not be air-conditioned, but it will be heated and it will have vents to pull in fresh air,” he said.

The question at issue was how to most cost-effectively meet the school's biggest needs without costing taxpayers a dime.

Richardson (construction), Merz (architecture) and Smith (finance) presented six options, ranging widely in price, complete with draft drawings and aerial shots of the area, along with the cost estimates.

So, how can they do it without raising taxes?

Finance Method More Expensive, But Spares Taxpayers

“Basically, we have an increase in our valuation,” said Superintendent Scott Cline. “When the windmills come online, we needed to know how to capitalize on that new growth. So every option presented today – although they won't reflect the full value that's needed – reflects what we can do without raising taxes. Now that we have the actual numbers, we can go out and say this will have no tax increase.”

Smith explained the difference between a traditional bond and a series bond (this will be a series bond). Traditional bonds have been around since statehood, he said. “We sell it all in one package, and over the next 10 years you collect the taxes and pay it back.”

Series bonds work a little differently, he said. “Most school districts today are using series bonds. You vote one time for the total amount, but then break it into several bond sales. We do that so the tax impact is flat over the life of that series. As one pays off we sell a second one.” He compared it to an operating loan.

However, there is a down side to going with a series bond, he said. “Any time you have a series bond, you pick up extra expenses,” Smith said. “The real question is whether that interest cost is going to be cheaper than inflation over the life of this program.”

And will the interest be cheaper than the inflation cost?

“In my 20 years,” Smith said, “construction inflation averages 5 to 10 percent. Interest rates are usually 3 to 5 percent,” he said.

After enthusiastic discussion, the board ultimately chose to go with Option 5, neither the most costly nor the least at $7,865,000 for the series issue, which will deliver $6,372,000 to the school.

Cline summed it up, conceptually: “It's a four-year extension on our current bond payment at the same tax rate as you're paying now.”

The vote will be in February.

Other Board Business

The board also approved:

• out of state travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the FFA National Convention for 8 students and sponsor(s) on Oct. 26 through Oct. 30.

• employing Joe D. Hall General Contractors, L.L.C. pending bond approval.

• employing Corbin, Merz, & Haney Architects pending bond approval.

• employing Stephen L. Smith Corp. as financial consultants to the school district for the fiscal year 2022-2023.