BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board Monday night voted to borrow about $9.6 million for capital projects.

A bond issue will be taken out before the end of the year and the district plans to refinance some of its other debt in June.

The savings from the refinancing will mirror the added debt service payments of the bond issue, meaning there will not be an effect on the 2016-17 budget, said Alisha Reesh of Janney Montgomery Scott, the district's bond underwriters.

The term of the bond will be 18 years and the district is anticipated to pay $5.349 million in interest over its term.

Many of the projects are roof replacements or paving that are needed to keep the buildings safe, warm and dry, said Brian White, superintendent.

The district has been lacking a preventive maintenance plan, leaving many of its schools in disrepair. To do nothing, in some cases, could end up costing the district even more, White said.

“It's a drop in the bucket compared to the need, but it's also a drop in the bucket compared to the liability to let them go,” he said.

The resolution approved by the board includes a listing of the planned projects. State law says that the district must have a reasonable expectation to spend at least 85 percent of the money within three years, said Anthony Ditka, the district's bond counsel.

While it is not ideal to extend its debt service payments, the board does not have many choices, board members said.

“We have no capital funds and we have aging buildings we have to take care of,” school board member Bill Halle said.

Included on the list are:

$1,010,000 for roof replacement at the Senior High School

$950,000 for a roof replacement at Center Township Elementary School

$550,000 for stadium turf replacement

$500,000 for roof replacement at Emily Brittain Elementary School

$500,000 for roof replacement at Connoquenessing Elementary School

$500,000 for roof replacement at Center Avenue Community School

$470,000 for 10 catch basin replacement at the Intermediate High School.

In the process of preparing the bond issue, officials learned that the district's bond credit rating was recently downgraded from A+ to A by S&P Global Ratings,

Nick Morelli, interim director of business services, said two years of deficit spending was the main reason the district was downgraded.

The district needs to balance its budget and start to rebuild its fund balance over the next couple of years to get back to an A+, he said.

“I was looking at your capital fund. We've got to build that back up,” he said.

If the district were to get downgraded again, it would make it more expensive to borrow money for future projects, Morelli said.

White said that the district is expected to have an operating deficit of about $1.8 million this year, not including one-time revenue the district got for selling one of its schools.