GREENLAND — The Greenland School Board moved a step closer to major improvements at the high school football field by signing off on a plan to refund about $6.3 million in bonds which would save the district an estimated $31,000 a year in interest costs.
If the bonds are sold in September, as anticipated, the savings will be pledged to a future bond issue to pay for new bleachers, a 120-meter track and 6,000-square-foot field house which will include restrooms, concession stand, coaches offices and a weight room for athletes, said Charles Cudney, superintendent. The seating capacity will remain the same with new bleachers, he said.
The board has been considering the idea for several months, working with Key Architecture of Fayetteville, but has put off the funding mechanism because the interest rates haven’t seemed beneficial for the district.
Dan Lovelady, presenting First Security Beardsley Public Finance of Little Rock, said the interest rate projected for early September when the sale is tentatively scheduled is 3.68 percent although the rate could come down from that point. The lower the interest rate, the more beneficial for the school district in savings.
The action taken at Thursday’s meetings allows First Security, acting as the district’s fiscal agent, to submit the proposal to the Arkansas Department of Education for approval and then implementing the sale in early September. The district has the option to decline any offer it receives for the sale of the bonds.
Board members made no comments during Lovelady’s presentation except to approve the documents that set the process in action.
The sale of the bonds being refunded and the savings to the district with determine the amount of a construction bond issue for the football project, Cudney said.
Lovelady said a $1.2 million bond issue would require an annual payment of about $60,000. No dollar amount for the construction has been determined and a project estimate was not immediately available.
The transactions involve second-lien bonds which don’t require voter approval and in this instance won’t increase the tax rate from the current 39.5 mills. Second-lien bonds for a district are like refinancing on a home. Second-lien bonds are a popular funding mechanism among districts for construction projects.