School Bond 101: Rock Hill, Fort Mill guide for voters
Voters in the Rock Hill and Fort Mill school districts will be asked May 5 to approve borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars to renovate and build new schools.
In Fort Mill, officials say new schools are needed to deal with rapid residential growth. In Rock Hill, where growth is slower, officials hope upgrading several schools will stave off the need to build more.
Here’s a primer:
About bond financing
Mike Gallagher, a financial adviser at Compass Municipal Advisors in Columbia, is working with both school districts. He answered some basic questions about bond financing:
What is a bond?
A bond is a method of financing similar to a loan. It’s chopped up into $5,000 increments which are due each year and sold to different investors across the country.
How are bonds issued?
Bonds are sold competitively. Investors bid on them and the lowest bidder is awarded the bonds.
Who buys bonds?
Anybody looking for an investment. Because of how large the school bonds are, they will be broken down into individual maturities and sold separately.
When are the bonds paid back?
Both Rock Hill and Fort Mill’s bonds will be repaid over 20 years.
Why do school districts use bonds?
School districts use bonds because they provide the lowest cost of capital due to their tax-exempt status.
Comparing referendums
Rock Hill
Amount: $110 million
Tax increase: None
Projects: Safety and energy upgrades, structural updates, buses, technology, remodeling existing buildings and a new elementary school, among other projects.
Bond committee members: Wayne Wingate, Todd Lumpkin, Andy Shene, John Gettys, Melvin Poole, Sig Huitt
Fort Mill
Amount: $226.8 million
Tax increase: Yearly increase of $120 per $100,000 of assessed value
Projects: A new high school, middle school, aquatics center, training center, buses and improvements to existing buildings, among other projects.
Committee members: Sharyn Lewis, Brian Murphy, Kristy Spears, Leigh Van Blarcom
Ready to vote?
Who can vote: Registered voters who live in the Fort Mill or Rock Hill school districts. Check your registration status at scvotes.org.
Not registered? You need to register with the York County Department of Voter Registration and Elections in person by April 3 or online or via mail by April 4.
Voter turnout: County elections director Wanda Hemphill says fewer voters typically vote in referendums not held during general elections. In the last York County school bond referendum, in Clover in March 2014, about 19 percent of registered voters turned out. Just 10 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the last Fort Mill referendum in April 2013. By comparison, the 2014 general election in November saw about 39 percent voter turnout, and 70 percent of voters came out for the last presidential election in 2012.
This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 10:38 PM with the headline "School Bond 101: Rock Hill, Fort Mill guide for voters."