Northern Lebanon school board approves $3.1 million loan for renovations

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The Northern Lebanon school board approved a $3.1 million loan at its Jan. 13 meeting to finish construction at the district’s secondary school.

The vote was 7-2, with board members Shen Kreiser and Martha Blough voting nay without elaborating.

Superintendent Gary Messinger said the three-year-long construction project is in its final phase, and the $3.1 million will help complete it.

“Those renovations consisted of renovating the auditorium, pretty much all of the hallways, all the classrooms, the cafeteria, the gymnasium — it was a $50 million project,” Messinger said after the meeting. “These are the last remaining pieces that we have of that.”

He said the final $3.1 million will go to finishing the last part of a hallway, replacing a brick wall along the side of the building, resurfacing the parking lot, and painting new lines on it. There are other “teeny little things” to be done, but he said those are the last major pieces.

Messinger said it should be finished in the spring or summer when the weather warms up, and the parking lot can be completed.

This final portion costs closer to $6 million, he said, but the district had some money available that it could put toward the construction.

The approved loan proposal was included in the agenda and states that lender First Citizens Community Bank is offering a fixed interest rate of 4%. Leanne Martin, director of business affairs, said the bank also offered a variable rate option that district staff did not recommend, noting that a consistent rate provides certainty.

She said the bank also has a prepayment option, so the district can start making payments toward the loan if the money is available. Other banks that offered loans didn’t allow prepayment until 2029.

“The difference would be about $24,000, and we could probably save that in interest even if we just made a couple of payments early on it,” Martin said.

She said the district had $3.2 million in escrow for the renovation, with $1.8 million remaining. The district could, theoretically, use some of the funding to put toward the loan.

The payment schedule included in the proposal shows that the district taking a full 10 years to pay off the loan would lead to it paying over $3.875 million.

In other business, the school board:

• Watched a video starring district students thanking them for their service for School Board Recognition Month.
• Briefly discussed the 2026-27 school calendar, which will be up for a vote at the next meeting. Messinger said they talked about starting school after Labor Day, but the holiday falls on Sept 7 this year, which could complicate fall sports schedules and take classes further into June. Instead, they are considering an Aug. 31 start date.
• Approved the resignations and redesignations, salary advancements, mentors, coaches, and co-curricular advisers outlined in the agenda.

The Northern Lebanon School Board will meet next in the Northern Lebanon District Office Board Room at 346 School Drive, Fredericksburg, on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. for a committee meeting. The next board meeting will be on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m.