Southfield Public Schools touts new bond projects

SOUTHFIELD — Back in November of 2022, 22,030 voters in the Southfield Public Schools district said “yes” to a $345 million capital facilities bond proposal on the ballot.

The approval increased the district’s debt millage levy from 2.3 mills to 5.56 mills, which started this year, in order to repay both the existing and new bonds. To reduce bond interest costs, the bond will be sold in three series: 2023, 2026 and 2029.

According to the district’s information, with the 3.26 mill increase for the average Southfield homeowner, the cost will be approximately $27 per month.

The 10-year bond focuses on five key areas:

• Right-sizing the school district to match current student enrollment.

• Transitioning from neighborhood schools to Educational Pathways.

• Expanding Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology by reconfiguring and expanding the instructional area to support fine arts, performing arts and technology learning opportunities; reconfiguring the University K-12 Academy facility and site by demolishing older portions of the building and constructing new instructional areas to support student learning.

• Expanding gifted and talented program opportunities throughout the school district.

• Expanding community use of school facilities.

“We are eternally grateful to our community for supporting this in November, and we are going to put those dollars to good use,” Southfield Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Green stated. “This (the bond) will transition the district for many generations to come.”

Residents can expect to see these projects in the works beginning next school year. The first series of bond sales will go towards needed technology, security and structural improvements at many of the schools throughout the district. Green explained that Adler Elementary School will be the first building to go “offline.” Adler students will be moved to the old Eisenhower Elementary School building that was closed in 2011.

This move will allow construction to take place at the Adler building. Every project has been reviewed and approved by the Michigan Department of Treasury. All renovations and upgrades are to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On April 18, Green and the district’s finance partner, Stifel, and municipal advisors from Plante Moran CRESA, as well as associates from Barton Malow and French Associates Architecture, held an informational presentation regarding the 2023 bond sales, construction and finances for 50 students from University High School Academy and 50 students from Southfield High School for the Arts & Technology.

The presentation granted students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the bond process and spotlighted the various career paths involved in the project. Each presenter explained how they got where they are today in their respective industries and encouraged the students to reach out if they were interested in exploring that career path.

Southfield Public Schools announced the successful completion of the first series of its 2023 school building and site bond sales on April 10. The first series has a total proceeding of $68,225,000, which the managing director at Stifel Finance, Brodie Killian, broke down in the April 18 presentation, stating that the district received over $258 million in orders, which is 5.2 times the total bonds offered for sale. One investor put in an order for over $55 million worth of bonds, and 25 different institutions placed orders for bonds. Series one of the bonds was sold at an interest rate of 3.85% with a final maturity of 2051, according to a press release from the district.

“Within 21 minutes of this bond sale being open to the market ... a large money manager, put in an order for $55 million worth of the school district’s bonds, and that totally spoke for the entire loan,” Killian said. “Now, with an hour left, we weren’t going to just shut down the order period at that time. So, we continued to let investors put in large orders, because the more orders we get, the more leverage we now have as an investment bank and the municipal advisor to bring the interest rate down in favor of the borrower. At an hour in, we had almost $300 million of orders for the bonds. Then we got another order ... for $41.8 million.”

Killian emphasized the importance of the students’ awareness of this major project.

“As Dr. Green said, a lot of these new improvements around the district are going to happen after you’re gone. But if you’re like me, I stayed in the Detroit area to raise my kids here. And so, this is going to be great for your future generations if you do come back here.”

For more information, visit https://www.southfieldk12.org/district/2022-capital-facilities-bond/.