Lafourche schools aim for $50M bond authorization

Voters will decide Saturday whether or not the Lafourche Parish School Board can take out a loan for construction projects and rededicate some of its property-tax revenue toward rising retirement costs.

Two parish-wide propositions appear on the April 21 ballot. Neither consists of a tax increase, according to public school officials, but local government officials openly condemned the proposals as tax hikes.

The first item on the ballot authorizes the board to sell bonds and incur debt at an amount not to exceed $50 million over 20 years with a maximum 8 percent interest rate. The bonds would be financed with 15.2 mills from the school board’s existing annual 17.2-mill debt-service property tax, school officials said.

The authorization would be used in phases, if granted. The school board most recently issued the third and final phase of bonds stemming from a proposition approved by voters in 1997.

The second proposition would redirect the remaining 2 mills from the board’s debt-service collection into a fund that would compensate for the rising costs of employee retirements.

“We’re not asking for anything new nor are we trying to do anything different,” Lafourche Superintendent of Public Schools JoAnn Matthews said. “This has been on the books since the 1990s, so it is the very same (millage) that we’ve had before.”

At last week’s Lafourche Parish Council meeting, several councilmen and the parish president chided the school board in front of a television camera for allegedly trying to sneak a tax increase on a ballot with no major elections or other propositions.

“It disappoints me,” Parish President Charlotte Randolph said. “That’s a whole lot of millage to increase.”

Councilman Phillip Gouaux agreed, calling it “upsetting,” “unfair,” and a “hefty amount of money.”

“I’m going to get on the radio and tell everyone not to vote for it,” Councilman Jerry Lafont added.

The council, which is trying to solve drainage woes and replace an antiquated jail facility, has been sensitive to tax issues in recent months and ordered an audit of all parish boards and committees to see if property taxes could be reduced.

School board officials told the Tri-Parish Times after the meeting that the voters are deciding on how to utilize the mills the board currently takes in, reiterating that the measures are strictly based on the use of property taxes, not the establishment of more. Affirmative votes would extend the duration of existing millages.

The board has maintained the same stance throughout, speaking about the issue at meetings and mailing pamphlets with: “No increase in taxes,” written in capitalized, bold letters. The miscommunication, instead, is likely the way the propositions are worded.

Both propositions say that a tax would be levied if approved. School officials say this is the case because the millage is stricken if there is no outstanding debt. However, the board most recently sold $18.8 million in bonds at a 2.6 percent interest rate, so the millage is on the books at least until this loan is repaid.

The millage has been in place at its current rate since 1981, according to LPSB spokesman Floyd Benoit. Because of higher property tax assessments, the board has been able to pay off some debts as much as 10 years ahead of time.

The extra money, coupled with an urgency to offset heightened mandated cost obligations into the state’s teacher and school employee retirement systems, is why the board seeks a rededication of two mills.

“All the stars are aligned,” Benoit said of the debt-friendly interest rates coupled with higher property assessments.

All public school districts must pay a percentage of retirees’ benefits into two state-run systems, one for teachers and one for school employees. In fiscal year 2010, the districts paid 15.5 percent of teachers’ benefits and 22.1 percent of the employees’ benefits. Those percentages rose to 23.7 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, in 2012.

The increases have contributed to a strain on the school board’s budget. The board laid off five certified teachers last year.

Because the board wants to rededicate mills, the proposition must read like a new tax, Matthews said. If approved, the 2 mills would have to be reapproved every 10 years.

“We worked very closely with our bonding attorney in formulating these propositions,” Matthews said. “It is not a new proposition at all and would be no additional cost at all to any of our taxpayers.”

The school board collects 43 mills a year from property taxes. The debt-service fund of 17.2 mills does not expire until 2034. It was last approved on July 21, 2007, when 68 percent, or 1,759 of 2,585 voters, voted in favor of that proposition. Each mill is estimated to collect $725,000 per year.

The bonds, similar to loans, could be used for renovation and construction projects for all of Lafourche’s public schools. Specifically, officials say projects could include a new Raceland Lower Elementary School, a new elementary school in Bayou Blue and a new elementary school in Sixth Ward.

For property with a fair market value of $150,000, property owners eligible for the Homestead Exemption will pay $7.50 per mill. That amount is doubled for owners not eligible for the Homestead Exemption.

Early voting began April 7 and ended Saturday.

Since 1997, the school board has used the bond money to renovate all three high schools, build Bayou Blue Middle School, renovate Thibodaux Elementary School and complete many other construction and maintenance projects.

“We are continuing to be fiscally responsible with the funds that the public has provided to us in the past,” Matthews said. “We’re trying to use it in the best interest of the students and the school system without asking for any increases at all.”

Bayou Blue Elementary School teacher Jodi Lirette instructs students on how to track time with a clock. 

FILE PHOTO