School approves second lien bonds

Three of four School Board members present at Monday’s meeting approved a motion for second-lien bonds to help pay to complete the new high school. New board member Mindy Cawthon voted against the motion. Board member Ryan Heckman was absent.

“I’m not as familiar as I’d like to be with second-lien bonds,” Cawthon said Tuesday. “I still do not completely understanding that process … with me being new, I don’t know all the history with the high school and the financials … I’m still learning and trying to figure out why we’re spending this.”

“Until I further understand it, I’m not going to vote for anything I don’t understand,” she said. Cawthon said the secondlien bonds were discussed at a committee meeting last month but she still doesn’t understand all of what the state requires and what the second-lien bonds will mean from a growth perspective. She said the school has a current growth rate of 4% and the City Council and Planning Commission have already approved 700 new houses which will increase growth in the district.

“I’m concerned about making enhancements to the other schools,” she said, explaining that the second-lien bonds will not fall off until 2027-28. “In my heart, I just couldn’t vote for it.”

Michael Dobbs, analyst with First Security, explained to board members that a second-lien bond will not cost the district’s voters any additional money and does not require voter approval. It does require School Board and State Education Department approval. The bonds will provide $9,745,000 to the district and annual payments are currently projected to be $530,000, according to Dobbs.

Board president Jeff Neil asked Dobbs whether this was the most fiscally responsible option available to the district and Dobbs said he believes it is.

Cawthon asked what the district will have to do to keep all the schools ready for the anticipated growth.

“The way we have reconfigured the schools, this will allow a significant time from third grade all the way up,” superintendent Rick Neal said.

“The buildings that we have already built from the get go have already been designed where we can add on,” board member Jenny Wood said, adding that there won’t be a need to purchase more land for some time.

“So, financially, it will not affect the taxpayers at all?” Cawthon asked. “Yes, that’s true,” Dobbs said. Neil further explained that the projected revenues in the financial calculations does not factor in growth which will provide more revenue and allow paying off the bonds sooner than projected.

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda;

• Hired Karella Kordsmeier, High School English; Whitney Patton, Primary Instructional para pro; Barbara Brown, ISS teacher; Carolyn Armour, instructional para-pro; Amy Hoskinson Manley, High School English; Yulia Rathgerber, fifthgrade math; Taylor Masotto, fifth-grade writing; Callie Day, seventh-grade math/science; and Dallas Hubanks, Middle School Special Education teacher;

• Transferred Casey Ludolph, fifth grade math to sixth-grade literacy; Mindy Ferguson, sixthgrade literacy to fifth-grade math; and Laura Baker, classified to certified teacher;

• Accepted resignations from Ryan Toland, Middle School teacher; Taylor Correia, Middle School teacher; Breanne Snow, instructional para-pro; Jamie Eastmade, fifth-grade literacy; and Sara Anderson, food service; and

• Approved board-to-board transfer of Mason Butler, seventh grade from Rogers.