Q&A for Proposition V

A school bond is like a home mortgage with principal and interest to be paid off over a set period of time. School districts use bonds to finance school construction, building improvements and preservation of facility assets. 

In a sense, the bond is a state-approved funding process that specifies a set scope of projects. When voters approve a bond, the money specified in the bond proposal is borrowed and the school district makes payments over a period of years, much like a homeowner pays a mortgage. Bonds are usually issued for 20-30 years.

The proceeds from the sale of the bonds will be used to pay for the projects included in the bond proposal.

Proceeds from a bond issue can be used for the construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land, and the purchase of capital items such as equipment. Bond proceeds cannot be used for teacher and administrator salaries.

Bonds can be used to finance long-term assets such as:

• Constructing new school buildings
• Constructing additions to existing school buildings
• Remodeling existing school buildings
• Energy conservation improvements
• Land purchases
• Site development and improvements
• Athletic and physical education facility development and improvements
• Playground development and improvements
• Refunding debt (if new present value savings can be demonstrated)
• Direct bond program costs such as professional fees, election fees, issuance costs, qualification fees, insurance fees, final audit costs
• School bus purchases
• Loose furnishings and equipment purchasing
• Technology purchases limited to hardware and communication devices that transmit, receive or compute information for pupil instructional purposes only. The initial purchase of the operating system and customized application software is allowed if purchased with the initial hardware.

Bonds cannot be used for:

• Salaries, supplies, service contracts, lease payments, installment contracts
• Repairs, maintenance, or maintenance agreements
• Purchasing automobiles, trucks, or vans
• Portable classrooms purchased for temporary use
• Uniforms
• Textbooks
• Upgrades to an existing computer operating system or application software
• Computer training, computer consulting, or computer maintenance contracts.

  Proceeds from a bond issue can be used for the construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land, and the purchase of capital items such as equipment. Bond proceeds cannot be used for teacher and administrator salaries.

  Bonds can be used to finance long-term assets such as:

  • Constructing new school buildings
  • Constructing additions to existing school buildings
  • Remodeling existing school buildings
  • Energy conservation improvements
  • Land purchases
  • Site development and improvements
  • Athletic and physical education facility development and improvements
  • Playground development and improvements
  • Refunding debt (if new present value savings can be demonstrated)
  • Direct bond program costs such as professional fees, election fees, issuance costs, qualification fees, insurance fees, final audit costs
  • School bus purchases
  • Loose furnishings and equipment purchasing
  • Technology purchases limited to hardware and communication devices that transmit, receive or compute information for pupil instructional purposes only. The initial purchase of the operating system and customized application software is allowed if purchased with the initial hardware.

  Bonds cannot be used for:

  • Salaries, supplies, service contracts, lease payments, installment contracts
  • Repairs, maintenance, or maintenance agreements
  • Purchasing automobiles, trucks, or vans
  • Portable classrooms purchased for temporary use
  • Uniforms
  • Textbooks
  • Upgrades to an existing computer operating system or application software
  • Computer training, computer consulting, or computer maintenance contracts.

PROP V (the no-tax-rate-increase bond issue) will provide funding for:

• A new secure “connector” building that will link classroom buildings and ensure a safer environment by creating one point of entry to the campus.
• Classroom, cafeteria, and restroom renovations.
• A new, indoor access to the current detached cafeteria, as well as other cafeteria upgrades.
• Renovations to the school library.
• A new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classroom.

The last bond issue was approved by voters in April 2017. The funds were used to construct the Normandy Early Learning Center, home to the district’s youngest scholars, students in preschool, prekindergarten, and kindergarten. The district also built new library media centers at Jefferson and Washington schools, in addition to new administrative offices and nurses’ suites. There were also other infrastructure improvements made at other schools in the district.

The primary purpose of the bond election is to renovate and upgrade schools and school facilities, and to upgrade technology. The bond proposal is necessary to assure that Normandy Schools Collaborative's buildings are up to date and in good condition. It was designed to protect the community’s investment in its schools. The bond proposal on the April ballot will impact every Normandy High School student, and its facility.  

Remodeling and upgrading school buildings and facilities tend to protect the community’s investment in the school district. In fact, all of Normandy’s bond proposal projects are designed to reflect positively on homeowner property values and the community’s reputation for being a well-run and a desirable place to live.

Proposition V:  is a no-tax-rate-increase bond, meaning there will be no increase in the

   rate of property taxes as a result of the bond passing.

Yes. All revenue from the bond proposal will stay in the Normandy Schools Collaborative. None of the revenue will go to any other school district or political entity. The bond funds can only be used for bond proposal projects and cannot be used for salaries.

The proposed bond projects cannot be addressed because they exceed the capacity of the general fund budget.

No. Bond proposal funds cannot be used for staff wages, salaries, or operational costs. They also cannot be used for repair or maintenance costs or other operating expenses. Bond proposal funds must be used only for purposes specified in the ballot language, and as required by state law, they must be audited.

Below is the actual ballot wording:

A YES vote means that you are in favor of the bond proposal; a NO vote means that you are opposed to the bond proposal.

 

OFFICIAL BALLOT

SPECIAL BOND

ELECTION

NORMANDY SCHOOLS COLLABORATIVE MISSOURI JOINT EXECUTIVE

GOVERNING BOARD, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI TUESDAY, APRIL

6, 2021

REQUESTED AMENDED BALLOT

 

 Proposition V (REMAINS THE SAME – NOT AMENDED)

Shall the Joint Executive Governing Board of the Normandy Schools Collaborative of St. Louis County, Missouri, without an increase in the current debt service property tax levy, borrow money in the amount of Twenty-Six Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($26,500,000) for the purpose of providing funds to construct, equip, and furnish needed improvements and upgrades at Normandy High School to improve the safety, security and learning environment for the students and teachers; and to the extent funds are available, to complete other construction, remodeling, repair, furnishing, and improvements to the existing facilities of the Normandy Schools Collaborative; and issue bonds for the payment thereof resulting in no tax increase to the debt service property tax levy? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted debt service levy of the Normandy Schools Collaborative is estimated to remain unchanged at $1.7825 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of real and personal property.

Yes [ ]

No [ ]

INSTRUCTION TO VOTERS: If you are in favor of the question, place an X in the box

opposite “YES”. If you are opposed to the question, place an X in the box opposite “NO”.

 

Proposition T (AMENDED TO INCLUDE PERSONAL PROPERTY RATES)

Shall the Joint Executive Governing Board of the Normandy Schools Collaborative of St. Louis County, Missouri, be authorized to increase the operating tax levy ceiling by $0.58 cents per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation through Tax Year 2041 to $4.6978 for residential real property, $5.0406 for agricultural real property, $4.2743 for commercial real property, and $5.24 for personal property per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation and be applicable to assessed valuation for each year beginning with the 2021 Tax Year and continuing through and including the 2041 Tax Year for the purpose of providing funds to maintain district facilities, construct, equip, and furnish needed improvements and upgrades at Normandy High School to improve the safety, security and learning environment for the students and teachers; and, to the extent funds are available, to complete other construction, remodeling, repairs, furnishing, and improvements to the existing facilities of the Normandy Schools Collaborative?

 Yes [ ]

No [ ]

 

INSTRUCTION TO VOTERS:  If you are in favor of the question, place an X in the box

opposite “YES”. If you are opposed to the question, place an X in the box opposite “NO”.