Region 15 Board of Education Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 2, May 1, 2024

Construction workers have poured the cement for the new PHS tennis courts.

A year ago voters approved a $11.3 million bond dedicated to funding capital repairs. The district has secured this amount at an interest rate of 3.89% over 30 years.  As part of the bond issuance process, Moody’s Ratings assigned Region 15 an Aa2 issuer rating. 

In a press release on April 24, Moody’s stated, “Governance is material to the district’s credit quality. [Region 15] has consistently realized balanced operations, the result of conservative budgeting and management of expenditures.”  The Aa2 rating also considers the high credit quality of its member towns, Middlebury and Southbury.

Inclusive of the new $11.3 million, Region 15 has approximately $13 million in debt outstanding.

The most recent capital improvement to be made using the bond money is the replacement of the PHS auditorium stage curtains, lighting, and floor.

Other capital investments are ongoing or completed.  The PHS athletic field shed and tennis court replacements are in progress. Contractors have started replacing the PHS pool. A new floor has been installed in the MES media center. 

For the latest information on multiple projects visit https://www.region15.org/about-us/building-projects

 

PHS auditorium floor and curtains are removed in preparation for replacement.  Additionally, there will be new stage lighting installed.

The district is addressing recent failures in the following equipment: MMS a/c, MMS portable HVAC and heat pump, RMS boiler, and one of the PHS gym's HVAC units.  Many of these items are beyond repair, often decades old, and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair or replace.  The PHS gym alone is comprised of several HVAC units; to replace all of them at once would cost millions of dollars. 

The district funds these repairs out of its operating budget, a capital fund, and the capital bond. In addition to the $11.3 million bond, the district has over $1 million in its capital fund and $425,000 in its capital operating budget for the 2024-25 school year.

There is a bit of ebb and flow to tackling these repairs. The district cannot drain its funds all at once, so it prioritizes the work. It makes repairs when it is cost-effective to do so. If the state or federal governments offer “matching” grant money, the district may prioritize a repair to take advantage of a time-sensitive grant.

Additional capital projects slated for the 2024-25 school year are: sidewalk repairs, replacement of some classroom flooring (various schools), parking lot lighting upgrade (PHS), wood shop dust collector (PHS), as well as the MMS water main hookup (see below), and a district-wide security cameras upgrade.

The district’s 5-year capital plan was presented at the board’s November 27th meeting and the capital budget for the 2024-25 school year at its March 20th meeting.

 

Work on replacing the PHS pool continues. The pool has been emptied and scaffolding was erected to begin work on the ceiling and lighting.

The state of Connecticut recently announced that Region 15 is receiving two matching grants: a $983,110 competitive award for replacement of several HVAC units at PHS, and $500,000 to connect MES to the public water line. 

A "competitive grant" means the quality of the district's application factored into the award amount. The district was in competition with other districts throughout the state to receive a piece of the total allotment of funds.

A "matching grant" means that the district must contribute an equal dollar amount to the project. Therefore, total project costs are near $2 million for the HVAC units and $1 million for the water line connection. 

The district will draw its half of the funding for both projects from the $11.3 million bond. The Region 15 board of education continues to appreciate the community's support for the bond, as it seeks both to maximize the value of the work done with the money, and to prioritize the district's infrastructure needs.

For example, MES is the only district school still using well water. Were the well to fail, the district would need to find an emergency source of water to run the schools. 

The PHS HVAC units to be replaced are near end of life. Replacing them now will save money in the long run since the location of these units will be more easily accessible while construction crews are working to renovate the PHS pool.

In more grant news...

The state awarded the district a competitive $380,000 matching grant in 2024 for security camera upgrades at all seven schools, as well as a competitive grant in 2023 for $501,600 for middle school math tutors. (The latter amount was not based on test scores, but on the quality of the district’s grant application.)

Small grant amounts can help kick start new initiatives. The district will receive a $50,000 ARPA grant to initiate a dual credit program next year at PHS where participating students could earn course credit at both PHS and UCONN.

Region 15 also used federal “Covid” grant money to buy the portable classrooms at LMES ($806,632) and to subsidize new teachers for RMS ($322,468). Last year the board voted to approve both expenditures as necessary due to enrollment changes at these schools.

Nine architect and design firms have submitted bids to conduct a feasibility study of the future paths of GES and PES.

On April 23 the district held a “walk through” of both schools for any firm wishing to bid. The bidding closed on May 9.

A Region 15 feasibility study committee will review the nine bids over this summer and into early autumn, and will recommend a firm for the board to hire. This committee will be comprised of board members, administrators, principals, and town and community representatives. 

To be clear, the feasibility committee's initial goal is to recommend a firm to hire to conduct the study.  The board will review the recommendation and hire a firm in the fall of 2024. The firm will conduct the study in 2025.  After the feasibility committee reviews the study's results, it will suggest a path forward to the board. 

The timeline of activity is tentative. Breaking ground on any renovation or new construction project is still several years away.

The district will continue to use the consulting service of a civil engineer who has experience in Connecticut school construction projects. The consultant specializes in informing districts how different renovation or new construction options have different levels of cost reimbursement by the state of Connecticut, as well as how the state's complex bureaucratic requirements must be addressed at the beginning of each phase of the process to ensure maximum reimbursement.

The board began discussions late last school year to determine whether it is in the financial best interest of our two towns to renovate or replace GES and PES, rather than to make long-term capital repairs. These two schools are the oldest in the district.

Board of Education meetings are Mondays at 7:30pm in the PHS Media Center unless indicated otherwise. Meetings can be watched live online. Click the YouTube logo to access the board's live and recorded meeting videos.  

To email the entire Region 15 Board of Education: Region15BOE@Region15.org

Source: Conn. Gen. Stat. 10-222, 10-221, 10-157