District 15 to sell $26 million in bonds for building repairs, discusses more borrowing
Palatine Township Elementary School District 15 plans to sell $26 million in bonds this spring to fund building repairs.
The school board voted Wednesday to authorize the bond sale, the final portion of a $40 million bond package approved in 2023.
Because the $26 million will be repaid within 10 years from the district’s existing debt service extension base, officials say the borrowing will not raise taxes beyond annual increases tied to inflation.
The money will pay for building and grounds improvements scheduled for the next three summers. The planned work ranges from routine facility upgrades to larger infrastructure work.
In addition to the $26 million borrowing, the board also heard about a possible second round of debt.
The district is exploring a 2024 change in Illinois law that allows school districts to issue “fire prevention and safety bonds” outside the normal tax cap framework. The bonds can only be used for projects approved by the Regional Office of Education and the state, but they provide a dedicated funding stream that doesn't compete with the district's other borrowing capacity.
District officials say roughly $29 million in long‑planned HVAC work that had been postponed during the pandemic is now planned for 2030 or 2031. The work was delayed because construction costs surged during the pandemic, District 15 Chief School Business Official Diana McCluskey said.
At Virginia Lake Elementary School in Palatine, the HVAC work alone is now estimated at $9 million to $10 million, because the building needs a full system redesign rather than a simple equipment replacement.
In a scenario outlined by the district’s financial adviser, Liz Hennessy of Raymond James, District 15 could issue about $52 million in health-life-safety bonds as soon as summer 2027 to tackle major HVAC and other safety-related projects.
The bonds would be repaid over 20 years and, according to preliminary estimates, would add about $83 a year in taxes for a home valued at $350,000 and roughly $97 for a $400,000 home, officials said. The board has not yet voted to proceed with that borrowing.