FINANCING
School districts have a few options available when it comes to financing capital improvements. The most common are to borrow funds, save and expend from a capital reserve, or the budget. The Board of Education engages the services of a fiscal advisor and bond counsel who are experts in municipal finance transactions to guide them through the process. Dollars needed, debt service payments, state aid implications and estimated cost to district residents are among the items considered during this process.
This Capital Project Funding Options document provides some relevant details for each funding method.
As of April 28, 2022 these discussions have not taken place and will be arranged in the near future.
Capital Reserve
Education Law allows a district to establish a capital reserve, fund it and expend funds from this reserve for capital projects. Both the establishment and expenditure of funds from a capital reserve require community approval. When a capital reserve is established it is required to include the following components: maximum amount of money to be deposited, source of the funding, length of time the reserve is permitted to be funded and types of projects the reserve will be used for.
Wantagh has been using capital reserves since 2014. The first was completely funded and all funds expended and the second is still active. A summary of each is listed below.
Capital Reserve #1 March 2014
Capital Reserve #2 May 2018