The state is expected to cover only about nine percent of the building plan

What happened

The district's financial adviser told the board that state debt service aid on the $227,974,175 plan is likely to be about $20,688,694, or 9.075 percent of the cost. The reason is in the mechanics: renovation work is typically approved at 40 percent, but new construction attracts aid only at $143 per square foot for unhoused pupils, and while the state approves at 40 percent it has been appropriating 85 percent of the approved amount, which works out at about 34 percent of eligible cost. Of the total, $154,009,375 is new construction, $60,849,100 renovation and $13,115,700 site work, and the architect told the board that site improvements such as the turf field and the bus depot may attract no aid at all. The preliminary analysis presented to the board includes no state aid in the household cost figures.

Why it matters to families

When a district says the state helps pay for school construction, the share matters. Here more than ninety cents in every dollar would come from Livingston taxpayers, which is the real question on any referendum ballot.

The evidence

The financing presentation records 'Renovation Projects of $60,849,100 x 34% = $20,688,694' and 'Debt Service Aid of $20,688,694 divided by total cost of $227,974,175 = 9.075%', with the note 'No debt service aid included in preliminary analysis'.

The source