The Ontario Board of Education approved the bus garage renovation project.  The full cost of the project will be underwritten using the revenue in the school’s Permanent Improvement Fund. Permanent improvement money is separate from a school’s operating money and can only be spent on an asset with at least a five-year life expectancy.  The District has spent very little from the Permanent Improvement Fund since it was approved in 2003 (the passage of the one-mill permanent improvement issue also didn’t increase the District’s tax rate).  The permanent improvement levy provides $355,000 annually for our facilities.

The reason that the District refrained from spending large sums of permanent improvement money during our recent two-year levy campaign was because we believed that our community would see us spending money on our facilities, and consequently, believe that the school didn’t need new operating revenue.  (Again, permanent improvement money and operating money are two separate funds, which by law, can’t be combined.)  Now that the operating levy has passed, the Board is spending significantly from the Permanent Improvement Fund because we promised our voters to keep our facilities well maintained in exchange for their support of the 1998 Bond Issue.

As part of that promise, the following are among facility improvements which are also courtesy of permanent improvement funds (some are completed and some are currently underway): the addition of eleven security cameras at OHS (some of the new cameras cover the parking lot), the addition of hallway base cove at OHS/Intermediate, new floor tile in the Intermediate teacher lunch room, epoxy painting at OMS (commons, hallways, restrooms, kitchen) and at OHS (gym, commons, restrooms, kitchen), three handicapped accessible door entrances (Intermediate, OMS, OHS), renovation of the girl’s restroom across from OHS/OMS auditorium and the second floor girl’s restroom at OHS, a new OHS/OMS auditorium sound loft, new sound system for the OHS/OMS auditorium, as well as new security and athletic fences (Primary, OHS/OMS).

However, the largest of the permanent improvement projects is the renovation of the bus garage.  The renovation of the bus garage isn’t a high profile or glamorous project but it is a financial necessity.  Currently, some of the bus bays are being used for storage of school supplies and equipment.  As a result, we have to leave six buses out in the weather.  Over time, because we’ve had to do that, it has cost the District money.   We’ve had to replace the back ends of those buses which costs approximately $10,000 each.  We’ve also had to replace the cross rails under some of those buses due to their exposure to moisture which is also a significant cost.

By adding additional square footage to the bus garage, we’ll be able to move the supplies and materials out of the bus bays.  As a result, we’ll be able to put all of the buses in the bus garage and protect them from the elements. With the current length of the bus bays, we couldn’t park the soon-to-be-purchased 84 passenger buses end-to-end and close the bus doors to work on the buses.  With the new renovation, 84 passenger buses (and even 90 passenger buses) can be closed into the bays. Additionally, we’ll be able to better inventory our supplies and materials which will save us the cost of duplicating our inventory.  In each and every instance, the renovation will be a cost saving measure for the District.

The Board has earmarked $400,000 from the Permanent Improvement Fund toward the bus garage renovation project.  However, the projected cost is approximately $950,000.  As a result, the Board will borrow against the next five years of anticipated permanent improvement revenue for the project.   By borrowing against anticipated revenue over that five-year period, our estimated annual loan payment will be $125,000 per year leaving the District approximately $230,000 annually in the Permanent Improvement Fund.

The bus renovation project will add an additional 13,974 square feet to our existing facility.  We anticipate that the completion of the entire project will be next summer.