On Monday September 8th at 6:00 p.m., the Olympia Board of Education will be holding a hearing to discuss the district taking out $15,000,000 in Alternate Revenue Bonds. The meeting will be held in the Media Center at Olympia West Elementary. Anybody from the public is welcome to attend this hearing to hear more about the process that the district is undergoing to secure the funds to complete projects that were discussed during the 2024 Referendum. These projects include new Ag/STEM classrooms, a new multi-purpose facility, and a new Unit Office.
There has been some misinformation being posted on social media about these bonds and this process. During the 2024 Referendum, the district told the public that if the referendum passed, the district would stop taking out Working Cash Bonds, which is true. In order to pay back Working Cash Bonds, the district includes the yearly repayment on the tax rate. The Working Cash Bonds were used to cover the deficit in the Education fund. The district is no longer taking out Working Cash Bonds because there is no longer a deficit in the Education fund, thanks to the passage of the referendum.
Alternate Revenue Bonds do not impact the tax rate of the district. The district is using the increased revenue in the Operations and Maintenance fund (as a result of the successful passage of the referendum) as well as revenue from the 2025 passage of the McLean County Sales Facility tax to pay for these bonds. The district made the decision to pursue this funding source due to the rising cost of construction. If the district waited until they had enough cash on hand to complete the projects that they have committed to, the district architects estimated that it would cost multiple million dollars more to complete the projects one at a time. Taxpayers' tax rates will remain unchanged as the district goes through this Alternate Revenue bond process.