NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION
Notice is hereby given pursuant to Indiana Code § 6-1.1-20-3.1 that the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District (the “School Corporation”) did, on July 31, 2023, make a preliminary determination to issue bonds and enter into one or more lease agreements (the “Lease”) for the renovation of and improvements to Bluffton High School, including moisture abatement, HVAC, and building envelope improvements, and the purchase of equipment and technology (the “Project”). The Lease will be for a maximum term of twenty-two (22) years with a maximum annual Lease rental of $1,500,000. The maximum annual Lease rental has been estimated based upon an estimated principal amount of bonds of $10,000,000, estimated interest rates ranging from 1.00% to 6.00%, and total estimated interest costs of $6,550,000.
As required by Indiana Code § 6-1.1-20-3.1(b)(1), the following information was available to the public at the public hearings on the preliminary determination: (i) the School Corporation’s current and projected annual debt service payments divided by the net assessed value of taxable property within the School Corporation, which is 0.64%; and (ii) the sum of the School Corporation’s outstanding long term debt plus the outstanding long term debt of other taxing units that include any other territory of the School Corporation divided by the net assessed value of taxable property within the School Corporation, which is 4.32%.
The School Corporation’s current debt service levy is $2,448,026 and the current rate is $0.4477. After the School Corporation enters into the proposed Lease and the bonds are issued, the gross debt service levy will increase by a maximum of $1,500,000 and the gross debt service rate will increase by a maximum of $0.1725. However, as existing obligations mature, the anticipated net increase to the Debt Service Fund tax rate is expected to be $0.02 above the 2022 rate.
The estimated amount of the School Corporation’s debt service levy and rate that will result during the following ten years if the School Corporation enters into the lease and issues the bonds, after considering any changes that will occur to the debt service levy and rate during that period on account of any outstanding bonds or lease obligations that will mature or terminate during that period, is as follows:
Estimated Total Estimated Total
Year Debt Service Levy Debt Service Rate
2022 2,382,157 0.4679
2023 2,448,026 0.4477
2024 2,721,421 0.4879
2025 2,775,370 0.4879
2026 2,831,317 0.4879
2027 2,887,477 0.4879
2028 2,945,139 0.4878
2029 2,945,177 0.4878
2030 2,945,085 0.4878
2031 2,944,415 0.4877
2032 2,548,181 0.4221
2033 2,544,323 0.4214
The purpose of the Lease is to provide for the Project.
Any owners of real property within the School Corporation or registered voters residing within the School Corporation who want to initiate a petition and remonstrance process against the proposed issuance of the bonds must file a petition that complies with Indiana Code § 6-1.1-20-3.1 subdivisions (4) and (5) not later than 30 days after the publication of this notice.
Dated August 1, 2023.
/s/ Board of Education
Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School District
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