Millions to Revamp the Middle School

Upper Moreland Middle School will be getting some upgrades.

Earlier this week, the Upper Moreland School Board, at a special action meeting, approved a motion allowing for the issuance of a $5 million bond to make structural improvements to the school.

School board president Mark Wenik said the money will first be used to make structural improvements to the building, followed by classroom improvements about two to three years later.

“Basically, we’ll improve the structure — the HVAC, electrical, we’ll replace the floor — essentially the bones of the building to make sure they’re solid,” Wenik said.

Wenik said the board has been throwing around the idea of revamping the aging school for the past year, but started “fine-tuning” the process in September; he said there was no discussion of building a new school. The school is about 43 years old, according to its cement plaque.

The 20-year bond will cost the district about $3.4 million in debt service; payments wil be roughly $160,000 per year.

Representatives from the PFM Group, the school district’s financial consultant, were on hand for the meeting. PFM Senior Managing Consultant Zach Williard said the reason for the special meeting was to give PFM and RBC Capital Markets flexibility on the bond’s price.

“The market is hot right now and we’ll look to price [the bond] on Wednesday,” Williard said. “Rates are incredibly low, and it’s a fantastic time to get into the market and get this $5 million-project wrapped up.”

According Moody’s, the school district has an Aa2 rating and $70.5 million in outstanding general obligation debt, including the $5 million issue.