DECATUR — The Decatur School District will save $120,645 over the next 18 years by refinancing a $3.9-million construction loan for the Northside Elementary School.
School board members voted to make the sale of bonds final at the Dec. 20 meeting. The savings were made possible because the market is just beginning to climb from an all-time low last summer, according to Danny Lovelady of First Security Public Finance.
The savings will amount to 2.123 percent of the total bond issue. The district will save about $56,088 the first year, with the rest of the savings spread out over the life of the loan, Lovelady told the board at a study session in November. The money saved from the proposed refunding will have to be used for new construction, renovation or buying school equipment, he explained.
Refinancing fees of $114,265 have already been factored into the net savings, he said. The bond was originally issuedin 2005 for the amount of $4.28 million. It was scheduled to be paid off in 2030.
Because the loan amount will not be increased and the loan term will not be lengthened, school board members can make the choice to issue the bonds without a vote from the public, Lovelady said.
There were five bids on the bonds, with Morgan Keegan submitting the lowest bid of 3.684 percent,Lovelady told the board.
Because the bonds are tax exempt, enacting an Internal Revenue Service Post Compliance Policy for the annual state audit report is crucial for investors, Lovelady told the board. First Security Beardsley Public Finance provided the school with a step-by-step compliance manual customized by legal council at Friday, Eldridge and Clark, if the school board decided to adopt it, Lovelady said. Lovelady also suggested appointing a director - either the district treasurer or superintendent - to be responsible for making sure the steps in the manual are followed.
After some discussion, the board voted to adopt the compliance manual and appoint district treasurer Terry Burden the director over compliance.
In other business, the school board went into aclosed session for more than an hour for a grievance hearing. Two elementary school teachers, Kayla Ellison and Kim Browning, represented by Bob Gettino of the Arkansas Education Association, also attended the hearing. When the board returned, they reported that no decisions had been made and the issue had been tabled until next month.
Other actions the school board took are:
◊ Approving staffing changes including one resignation and the addition of an elementary teachers aid and two part time bus drivers.
◊Approving a copy machine lease contract with Professional Business Systems Service.
◊Approving a grade replacement policy for students retaking a course.
◊Denying the transfer request of two students wishing to attend Gravette.
News, Pages 3 on 12/29/2010