GENTRY — The School Board at a special meeting on Sept. 13 authorized a $1.5 million construction bond and approved the low bid of Ross, Sinclaire & Associates at an interest rate of 4.75 percent.

The money may be used for new construction or for renovation and repair of existing facilities.

The board initially gave approval to seek the bond at its June 14 meeting. School Board members approved a resolution adopting a 2011-2012 biennium budget and giving notice of its intent to issue a bond in the amount of up to $1.5 million for renovations and improvements to school buildings and properties without asking for a millage increase.

The proposed Qualified School Construction Bond is money made available for loans to schools under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 for construction and renovation.

School board members voted unanimously at their May meeting to apply for the bond money to finance improvements to the district’s athletic and academic facilities, and its application was approved.

With interest on the bonds paid by the federal government, the loans are basically interest free to school districts, with districts paying a percentage of the bond each year to a trustee and drawing interest on the money held by the trustee during the term of the bond to further reduce the amount which the districts must repay over a 15- to 17-year period.

The vote of the board in June did not obligate the district to proceed with the bond issuance until a final bond document was brought back to the board and approved. Nor is the school district committed to spending the full amount of the bond - money not spent at the end of three years goes back to repay the bond.

“It’s hard for me not to take that money as much as I hate these types of government programs,” said board member Ted Dorn. “It’s a good deal for the tax payers to get $1.5 million and only have to pay about three quarters of it back.”

The seven-member board voted unanimously for the measure in June.

The remaining six members gave unanimous approval to the final bond documents brought back on Sept. 13.

Stephens Inc. is the fiscal agent for the district, and Dennis Hunt, senior vice president and manager, presented the bond information to the board.

Hunt also advised the board to consider refinancing its May 1, 2005 bond because of savings the district could realize due to lower interest rates.

Hunt said the district could save $75,000 and as much as $125,00 by refinancing the debt. The board gave unanimous approval to move forward with refinancing if savings can be realized.

The board on Sept. 13 also declined to negotiate for the purchase of land adjacent to the Gentry Intermediate School campus.

Leon Bland and Jason England had offered to sell the school district a full block of land lying between the Gentry Intermediate School and the Gentry City Park.

With the land not currently needed and future plans to eventually locate all campuses together on land owned along Pioneer Lane, the board elected to pass on the offer.

The board also gave unanimous approval to adding a new teaching position at the Intermediate School - a teacher with English as a Second Language endorsement. The additional teaching position was created to work on improving the district’s literacy tests scores which have been slipping, said district superintendent Randy Barrett.

Funding for the first year of the position will come from Title II-A funds.

A duty aide position was also created for the Intermediate School.

Board member Dani Cypert was appointed by the board to be acting secretary, following the resignation of Brenda Willett last month.

News, Pages 1 on 09/22/2010