District says it can bond for one new high school without raising taxes, but not two

What happened

Superintendent Dr. Hensel told the Vigo County Oversight Board the district's existing bonding capacity (how much it can borrow through long-term bonds without raising its tax rate) supports a 20-year bond for only one new high school, and asked whether the county could use its own bonding room to help fund a second — so the district isn't forced to choose between an east-side and a west-side school. Bonding capacity for one high school, 1:18:07 He said the district has not yet discussed specifics with the Terre Haute Casino Foundation, whose future support could help pay for an east-side high school, and that its current debt-service tax rate (the share of the property-tax rate set aside to repay bonds) of about 0.2424 is what supports its one-high-school bond. Casino Foundation not yet discussed, 1:19:10 He added that county commissioners have told the district they believe they, too, can fund one high school without raising their own rate — which together, he said, could cover the entire high-school portion of the plan. County's own bonding room, 1:21:12

The outcome

No vote was taken; the district asked the oversight board to explore whether the county can help fund a second high school.

Sources

Also known as: Option Six funding · county bonding capacity for schools · Terre Haute Casino Foundation partnership · one high school without a tax increase · West Vigo renovation funding · Terre Haute North and South consolidation funding