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South Range to pursue bond refinancing on new school bonds
By ROBERT CONNELLY
NORTH LIMA
South Range schools officials plan to refinance bonds used to build the new school complex, which could lead to a savings for the district.
District Treasurer Jim Phillips said he has watched interest rates and other figures over recent years to decide whether to pursue the refinancing. “Now, it is worth doing,” he said.
The refinancing could save the district $600,000, after lawyers and underwriters are paid after the bond sale. But if the market changes or interest rates rise before a bond sale could be done – most likely in November – the district can change its mind and not refinance.
In 2007, South Range voters approved a 28-year, 7.9-mill bond issue for the building of the new schools to raise $18.3 million, or 48 percent of the cost. The state provided nearly $20 million, or 52 percent.
In other matters, the board rejected bids for a new bus garage. There were four bids, but all came in at more than double the amount the district had estimated to spend on the facility.
Phillips said the lowest bid was about $220,000.
The district had planned to spend between $100,000 to $105,000 for a garage where a shed is across the gravel drive from the school board offices along state Route 46. That funding would come from the last of the local initiative from the school bond issue.
“To me it was a big surprise,” Phillips said of the bids received.
Balog, Steines, Hendricks & Manchester Architects Inc. of Youngstown, the firm that built the new schools complex, is the architect on the garage. It will now have to cut out some aspects of the new bus garage, such as a bathroom, to reduce costs.
“We’re going to readvertise for bids once” those revisions are done, Phillips said.
Superintendent Dennis Dunham said it is still the district’s hope to have a garage built before snow begins to fall.