City Council to Consider Request to Place $70 Million Bond on November Ballot
Burlington, VT On Tuesday, August 21st, the Burlington Board of School Commissioners passed a resolution asking City Council to place a $70 million bond question on the November ballot. The School board passed the resolution by a margin of 9-1.
Be it resolved by the Burlington Board of School Commissioners as follows; That the Burlington City Council be respectfully requested pursuant to Section 63 of the City Charter to place the following question on the ballot of a Special City Meeting to be held on November 6, 2018:
“Shall the legal voters of the city authorize the city council to pledge its full faith and credit by the issuance of its general obligation orders, warrants, notes or bonds in an amount not to exceed $70 Million for the purpose of making capital improvements to the public schools of the city, including the construction of a new or rehabilitated high school.”
The $70 million resolution represents board support for a $68.5 million plan presented by the School District and adds an additional $1.5 million into the project for air conditioning and contingencies.
“In a city built upon institutions of higher learning we must continue to lay the educational foundation for our current and future students,” said Board Chair Clare Wool. “Our thriving community depends on the quality of our school system.”
“The prospect of this project moving forward and addressing our accessibility needs, outdated learning spaces, and safety issues at BHS excites me for our students and staff,” said Superintendent Yaw Obeng. “The support of our school board is a good step forward and now we look to continuing to engage our staff and community in the project’s design and implementation.”
Obeng noted that the district is scheduled to present the plan, its history and tax and debt implications, and the ballot request to City Council on Monday, August 27. Much of that information is already available on the district’s BHS Renovation web page:
###
Burlington School District (BSD) is a pre-k-12 public school system of about 4,000 students in Burlington, VT. BSD’s mission is to graduate students who: value different cultures, engage with the community, communicate effectively, think creatively, skillfully solve problems, and achieve at their highest academic, intellectual, and personal potential.
