Principal amount not to exceed $3.5 million

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Community Schools Board of Education authorized financing the Orion Center purchase on a principal amount not to exceed $3.5M during its meeting on Sept. 25.
Financing will be done through limited tax bonds, according to Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Andrea Curtis. These bonds will be sold in a level-debt structure, saving the district money compared to a structure starting with smaller principal payments that grow over time, she said.
Debt payments will be made out of the district’s sinking fund over an eight-year peroid, with the final payment being in the 2032 fiscal year.
The district is allowed to issue bonds without an election vote under Michigan Act 451 because its total bonded debt is less than 5% of the district’s state equalized value of taxable property, according to Curtis.
“I want to make sure it’s clear that we are asking for $3.5 million when the purchase price of the building is $3 million,” Curtis said. “The point five million will provide us flexibility to begin necessary renovations to move in next summer.”
The school district is currently developing a renovation plan with Royal Oak-based GMB architects, but does not yet know the plan’s full cost. What Curtis said the district does know is that there will be upfront technology costs necessary to “hit the ground running” when the district moves in next summer.
“I would expect that by September (2025) we will have the full amount spent of these proceeds,” she said.
The Board of Education authorized the purchase of the Orion Center from Orion Township on June 26.