The Princeton R-5 Board of Education approved a lease agreement with the City of Princeton August 15th. The agreement will allow the school district to use the new ball fields that are under construction.
As of August 16th, more than $600,000 had been collected for the ball fields in grants and donations. Funding includes a $250,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, another Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for $62,500, $9,100 from the Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, $150,000 from Judy Derry Mahoney, $128,400 from more than 80 individuals and organizations, and $20,000 from the Mercer County Recreational Tax District.
The Princeton School District has communicated with a potential donor or potential donors to provide LED lights for two of the fields. The estimated price for materials and installation of the light system is more than $400,000. The potential donor or donors would like to make an annual commitment to contribute to the payment of a loan.
The City of Princeton owns the property where the ball fields are being constructed. A news release indicates the city has agreed to borrow $500,000 with a signed lease agreement from the school district to make the annual payment. The city borrowed against its Farmers Bank certificates of deposit. That method provided an optimal interest rate for the city to use funds for the project.
The lease will be for 10 years, starting September 1st of this year and ending August 31st, 2032. The lease payment will be $57,757.08 annually for the first 10 years. At the end of the lease, the city and school district can agree to renew the lease for an additional 10 years with a $1 yearly fee going forward.
The school district plans to utilize donor contributions to help pay a portion of the annual payment. The remaining part of the loan not used for lighting will be applied to assist with the completion of the project.
Anyone who wants to donate to the project is asked to contact Princeton R-5 Superintendent Jerry Girdner. Checks can also be mailed to the Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri at 1006 West Saint Maartens Drive Suite B at Saint Joseph, Missouri 64506. Princeton Ball Fields should be written on the memo line, and include a note or cover letter with the donation.
The news release notes the reason for the lease is the city will fund the purchase and installation of sports lighting at the new fields. The lease agreement will make the payments for the loan against the CD.
There is no set date for completion of the ball field project at this time. Construction on the project began in June with support of the school district, City of Princeton, and Princeton Ball Association.
The board of education set the total tax rate at $5.2445 per $100 of assessed valuation. That is $.0688 more than last year. It includes $4.1113 for incidental, $.9532 for debt service, and $.18 for capital projects.
The board voluntarily rolled back the debt service levy to maintain its promise of a no-tax increase bond issue that was passed in April 2017. The state auditor’s computation of the debt service tax rate was $1.2291.
The board approved 2022-2023 student and staff handbooks and the Local Compliance Plan for Special Education.
After a closed session, it was announced the board hired Donna Bears as a prekindergarten paraprofessional. Ruth Ann Shipps was approved as a part-time science teacher.
The board approved Dana Seymour as the Parents as Teachers and Title One supervisor, Sawyer McCallon as a volunteer football coach, and Kami Stark as a part-time technology assistant.
