At its monthly meeting on July 23, the Steelville R-3 Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a resolution authorizing the sale of $6 million in general obligation bonds. The funds from the multi-million dollar loan will be used to pay for improvements and infrastructure projects on the campus buildings.

Construction for the school’s bond project is being managed by St. Louis-based Navigate Building Solutions. The general obligation bond itself is being administered by financial services company Piper Sandler. Representatives from Navigate and Piper Sandler briefed the board on the still-ongoing plans for both renovations to school facilities and the bond issuance.

The bond project will add seven new parking spots to the front parking lot of Steelville High School, four of which will be ADA-compliant. New parking spaces will be connected to the existing sidewalk in front of the school.

At Steelville Elementary School, existing culverts around the building will be cleaned and enlarged, and a drainage ditch at the intersection of Hwy. 8 and Hwy. 19 will be enlarged to improve water drainage. The front parking lot will also be graded away from the building to mitigate flooding.

The elementary school, originally built in 1957, will also undergo some interior remodels. Asbestos-containing plaster in the walls and ceilings, along with some window systems will be replaced. New doors will also be installed in all classrooms.

The elementary school’s front restrooms will be remodeled and made ADA-compliant, including new floors and ceilings. Plans include new thermally broken window systems with intruder-resistant glazing, which Navigate representatives said will improve energy efficiency and safety.

The biggest financial portion of the proposed renovation plans will go toward replacing the elementary school’s HVAC system and the addition of two new rooftop HVAC units at each end of the building’s roof.

A representative from Navigate said that the building’s current HVAC systems are “at the end of their useful life” and difficult to maintenance because they are located in the school’s attic. New units will be accessible by rooftop. “We know it’s real hot in there on the south side, so new HVAC paired with those new windows is really going to make things a lot more tolerable in there.”

While plans for renovations to Steelville schools continue, Cory Bextermueller, K-12 Market Leader at Navigate, said that with the bond measure approved, final construction documents could be completed by November, with bids from potential general contractors ready by January 2027. After approval from the school board, construction would take place during spring and summer of that year.

Steelville Superintendent Steve Vetter said he is happy with the way things are going.

“I think we are accomplishing everything that we’ve hoped to, and it’ll make a huge difference in that building,” Vetter said.

John Jungman from Piper Sandler said if financial markets remain steady, the bonds will be available for purchase as early as July 28, at an expected interest rate of 4.4 percent. Jungman said that most public bonds, like the one approved by the Steelville Board of Education, are bought by institutional investors like insurance companies and pension systems.

“They need places that are very secure for their funds,” Jungman said.

The general obligation bonds approved by the school board have a 20-year maturity, meaning that Steelville municipality has 20 years to repay the bondholders, which is typically done through tax revenue. Jungman added that the $6 million in funds should be available to the school board by Aug. 18, as it will likely take two weeks to sell once the bond is on the market.