Oak Harbor property owners now have an idea how much it will cost them to approve the high school remodeling project that will be on the ballot next spring.

The school board gave the OK at its regular meeting Monday night to get ready to sell bonds for a refurbished high school.

The board decision directs the district’s superintendent to develop a resolution, with the help of legal counsel, that would lead to the sale of $45 million in bonds, with voter approval, to pay for a partly new and partly remodeled Oak Harbor High School.

The bond issue is set to go to the polls March 11, 2003.

Jack Eaton, a banker with Bank of America who has been dealing with Oak Harbor School District for a number of years, attended the board meeting to answer questions about a new bond issue.

Voter approval of $45 million in bonds to pay for the high school construction work would add about 90 cents tax per $1,000 of assessed valuation on Oak Harbor properties. That translates into $180 on a $200,000 home.

The addition of the new bonds would bring the total tax rate for Oak Harbor school bonds and levies to about $3 per $1,000 of valuation, Eaton said. This total tax includes existing bonds that voters passed in 1996 and the maintenance and operations levy that received voter approval in 2001.

Eaton structured the total bond and levy repayment rate, including the $45 million proposed bond, to remain level at the $3 rate through the year 2019. This does not include any bonds or levies that voters may approve for other purposes in later years.

Oak Harbor School District has an A1 bond credit rating, Eaton said. Only 17 other districts in Washington state have an equal or higher credit rating. The proposed new bonds would actually receive an Aa1 rating, which is the highest possible, because they would be guaranteed by the state. The state currently has an Aa1 bond credit rating. Bond rating is important because the better the rating, the better the interest rate the district will receive on the borrowed money.

Additionally, Eaton made a presentation to the board on a resolution before them to refinance two bonds from 1996 and 1997. Eaton developed the refinance plan to take advantage of a lower interest rate, which will result in a $400,000 savings to taxpayers over 10 years.

“We think there’s an opportunity here we should take advantage of,” Eaton said to the school board.

The board voted unanimously to approve the refinancing of the two bonds.

“Anything we can do to save the taxpayers money, we should do it,” Kathy Jones, board president, said.

However, Scott Hornung, community member and former Oak Harbor school board member, said in a phone call Tuesday that it is still a risky time for the district to enter into the sale of bonds because of an uncertain economy. Hornung criticized the board for wanting to enter into debt at a time when the district has been struggling to maintain a safe fund balance and relying on state guarantees to get a high bond rating at a time when the state finances are shaky.

You can reach News-Times reporter Christine Smith at csmith@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/whidbeynewstimes or call 675-6611