Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School will be paying about $8 million less than expected in interest on bonds recently sold to fund its $70 million facilities project.
During Monday’s BBCHS District 307 Board meeting, school officials gave an update on the Feb. 2 sale of $49,734,000 in general obligation school bonds.
The bond sale resulted in an all-in rate of 3.67%, which means the district will owe about $8 million less than expected over the 15-year life of the bonds.
The board passed a resolution Jan. 12 authorizing a bond sale of up to $54,245,000.
Voters approved a referendum to fund $62 million of the $70 million facilities project in the Nov. 5, 2024 election.
The Feb. 2 bond sale was the second one completed to fund the school’s planned renovations and field house addition.
The board authorized the first bond sale in November 2025 for up to $7.83 million.
On Dec. 3, the first set of bonds were sold for $7,755,000. These bonds had all-in rates of 3.88% and 4.01%.
The district will be paying interest at a rate of 5% for both sets of bonds.
Tax increase lessened
Ramie Kolitzenew, chief school business official, said that two main factors contributed to the 3.67% all-in rate on its recent bond sale.
Current market conditions and the district’s AA bond rating were both favorable.
“Because of the district’s position to get project funds of $62 million, we’re actually saving our community $8 million over the 15-years life of the bonds,” she said. “That’s a significant savings, and that’s $8 million in interest that we won’t owe because of this.”
The all-in rate refers to premiums the district was able to secure with its bond interest rate, which was 5%, Kolitzenew explained.
The district also anticipated a 46-cent increase in the tax rate for the facility project, but that increase is now projected at 41 cents.
“It’s just remarkable,” Kolitzenew said. “I can’t stress enough how good this is.”
While taxpayers will still see their bills increase, the increase will be less than anticipated.
The impact on a $200,000 home was expected to be about a $23 increase per month. It is now slated to be a $20 increase per month.
The $3 per month reduction would amount to $36 per year.
The bond sale was divided into two parts to minimize interest costs.
Kolitzenew said the district can still issue a third set of bonds for another roughly $4.5 million to get to the $62 million total.
That will depend on how the project bids turn out.
The district also intends to contribute $8 million from its reserves to fund the project.
Because the borrowed money has to be spent within a certain timeframe, the district plans to use its own funding after the bond payments.
Bid packages approved
The district is currently in the construction documentation phase of the project with BLDD Architects and PSI Construction.
Construction documents are now 95% complete.
On Monday, the board approved the project’s first set of bid packages, which cover utilities relocation, totaling $703,977.25.
That includes $269,609 to PSI for general trades, $237,200 to Holohan Heating & Sheet Metal Inc. for mechanical work, and $139,836 to Ruder Electric Inc. for electrical work.
The total also includes $34,167.65 for setting up general construction conditions, $17,782.74 for overhead and profit, and $5,381.86 for performance and payment bond, according to board documents.
The work will include relocating utility lines and electrical panels before construction work can begin on the addition.
The board also gave the OK on Monday for PSI, the construction manager, to solicit the second round of bid packages, which will cover costs associated with the addition.
Bid documents and packages will be released the week of Feb. 23, with mandatory pre-bid meetings and walk throughs occurring Feb. 23–27.
The bid opening is scheduled for March 27.
Final cost approval is expected during the April board meeting.