Quaker Valley takes another step toward a new high school

Quaker Valley leaders say they’ve taken another critical step toward building a new high school on more than 150 acres of land the district purchased off Camp Meeting Road.

Board members on Sept. 24 approved an agreement with PFM Financial Advisors to help the district develop a long-term financing plan for the new high school.

This follows board action Aug. 20 to approve a contract with Thomas & Williamson at a cost not to exceed $69,200 to work with the district to develop requests for proposals for design and construction work. The money will be taken from the 2017 construction fund.

“These are strong steps forward toward a very exciting time in Quaker Valley School District,” Superintendent Tammy Andreyko said in a statement. “We look forward to developing a new high school for the community which will serve the district and meet the needs of our students for decades to come.”

Quaker Valley leaders maintain a new high school is needed to replace the nearly 100-year-old building students are learning in today.

The current site’s problems include limited accessibility, traffic congestion issues and insufficient parking, leaders say. And about 70% of the 14-acre site is on a flood plain. The school is not designed for today’s educational needs for creative spaces for collaboration, they say.

Critical systems in the building are past their service lives.

The district has purchased more than 150 acres and is in the process of purchasing 14 more.

There is not yet an estimate for what a new high school will cost, Andreyko said in an email.

Jon Thomas of Thomas & Williamson, who will serve as program manager, will work alongside design professionals to develop estimated cost projections. Thomas will work with Charlie Gauthier, the district’s director of facilities.

Engineers and consultants are finishing due diligence on the property to allow for construction planning to move forward, Gauthier said in an email.

“The search for and purchase of property on which to build the new high school, followed by the preliminary educational planning and the hiring of the program manager, are among the crucial steps in advancing the project,” Andreyko said.

PFM Financial Advisors will help the district through future debt issuances, including how much and when to borrow.

“We are fortunate to begin work with PFM Financial Advisors to ensure we are evaluating all options, structures and market factors relative to our current and future debt to provide the most appropriate and cost effective borrowings for our taxpayers,” Scott Antoline, director of finance and operations said in an email.

To fund past building projects, including at the elementary and middle schools, Quaker Valley “secured long-term financing/bonds that spread out repayment of project costs, similar to what one would do with a home mortgage,” Antoline wrote.

“Money from the capital project fund was used to strategically balance project cash flow and financing needs.”

Something similar likely will occur for the high school project, he said. However, the details will be worked out as the project moves into later stages.

Quaker Valley currently has about $58.2 million in outstanding debt. The district pays about $6.5 million a year on that debt.

There is about $7.7 million set aside in the general fund balance. Of that, $1.5 million is assigned to the high school project.

The district has a “debt ceiling” of about $115 million.

District leaders in the past have said they might need to get voter approval through referendum to borrow enough money for the project.

There are numerous laws that set guidelines for a district’s financial operations, Antoline said.

“Our goal is always to work within the fiscal guidelines and limits set by legislation whether it be annual operational or borrowing limits set by Act 1 or other governmental regulations,” he wrote.

“Referendum could be an option under such regulations in the future as we move through the project phases, but our intentions are to operate within the limits.”