Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Patrons approve bond refinance at Prescott

By more than a two-to-one margin, voters in the Prescott School District approved a measure to allow the district to refinance existing bonds. The goal is to raise money for school repairs and improvements.

Only 259 voters turned out for the election. Of those, 177 voted for tax and 82 voted against tax. Those voting for were actually approving a plan for the district to refinance existing bonds and the approval doesnt include an increased millage.

Following the election results, which were released less than a half hour after the polls closed, Prescott Superintendent Hyacinth Deon said she appreciates the voter support. Deon said the more than two-to-one margin is a message from the voters and is positive news for the school.

It means that we can go forward on the phase one projects we had in place, Deon said.

Those projects include the re-roofing of the old high school gym which is now used for physical education classes and renovation of the large bathrooms at the elementary school this year. The list of projects on phase one includes those planned for the next three years. Other projects include a fire alarm system for McRae Middle School.

The plan is to now refinance the districts existing bonds which financial planners say is similar to refinancing a home loan while cashing in on equity. The new bond issue will provide some immediate cash for the district which will be used to pay off an existing short-term loan, finance planned projects and increase the districts cash on hand.

Were hoping this will take us through phase one, Deon said. And we hope to build up the cash balance.

Prescott is among the districts around the state being forced to make specific improvements to meet state mandates regarding facilities.