Dr. David Ryan, Superintendent
30 Linden Street
Exeter, NH 03833
For Immediate Release
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Cooperative Middle School Building Project Spotlight On: Bond Payment
EXETER — In an effort to provide residents with all relevant information surrounding the Cooperative Middle School building project, Superintendent David Ryan is sharing the details of each component through the district’s spotlight series.
Each week, SAU 16 will delve into topics surrounding the proposed expansion and renovation project at CMS. In this feature story, SAU 16 seeks to educate its community members about how the bond and interest rate for the project work.
The projected budget for the project is $17.8 million. This figure includes all the hard and soft costs (construction and outfitting the new areas) as well as a contingency fund for any overages.
The district will fund the project through a 20-year bond, with an approximate 4 percent interest rate. By the end of the bond, the district will have paid $7,545,222 in interest. The principal cost of $17.8 million plus the total interest is $25,345,222.
When residents go to the ballot they will be asked to approve SAU 16 borrowing $17.8 million to fund the project and for the district to raise and appropriate the bond’s first year interest payment of $425,222.
If the project passes, residents will only be responsible for the interest payment in the first year.
To calculate the tax impact for each community, SAU 16 uses an average daily membership (ADM) — how many students each community is sending to CMS and Exeter High School — compared to the remaining communities in the district.
The ADM for fiscal 2020 — which is used to determine the amount residents in each community will pay on the $425, 222 interest payment — is calculated by looking at the two most recent school years (2016/17 and 2017/18), adding ADMs together and dividing them by two.
The estimated percent of each community’s bond payment share for fiscal 2020 is as follows: Brentwood: 16.60 percent; East Kingston: 8.09 percent; Exeter: 39.56 percent
Kensington: 7.09 percent; Newfields: 4.99 percent and Stratham: 23.67 percent.
This means that if the average home in the district is valued at $400,000, for the first year of the project, residents will see an annual increase on their tax bills of approximately:
- Brentwood: $48
- East Kingston:$44
- Exeter: $40
- Kensington: $32
- Newfields: $28
- Stratham: $32
Beginning in year two through year 20, residents will begin paying the principal ($17.8 million) plus the remaining interest on the project. If the average home in the district is valued at $400,000, residents see an annual increase on their taxes of approximately:
- Brentwood: $183.12
- East Kingston: $162.84
- Exeter: $143.16
- Kensington: $116.16
- Newfields: $106.56
- Stratham: $117.48
Voters will be asked to consider the $17.8 million project to improve services for students, faculty and staff on March 12. All six towns that make up CMS — Brentwood, East Kingston, Exeter, Kensington, Newfields and Stratham must collectively pass the ballot item with at least 60 percent voting in favor for the initiative to move forward.
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