Macon Reporter

Community Unit School District Number 15 Board of Education met Jan. 21.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The President called the meeting to order and directed the Secretary to call the roll.

Upon the roll being called, Dan Matthews, the President, and the following members were physically present at said location: Tammie Ennis, Chris Hammer, John Heinlen, Stephen Oswald and Rodney Rogers.

The following members were allowed by a majority of the members of the Board of Education in accordance with and to the extent allowed by rules adopted by the Board of Education to attend the meeting by video or audio conference:

No member was not permitted to attend the meeting by video or audio conference.

The following members were absent and did not participate in the meeting in any manner or to any extent whatsoever. Baker

The President announced that a proposal had been received from School District #27, Logan County, Illinois, for the purchase of $3,000,000 general obligation bonds to be issued by the District pursuant to Article 20 of the School Code for the purpose of increasing the District’s working cash fund, and that the Board of Education would consider the adoption of a resolution providing for the issue of said bonds and the levy of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest thereon. The President also summarized the pertinent terms of said proposal and said bonds, including the length of maturity, rates of interest, purchase price and tax levy for said bonds.

Whereupon Member D. Matthews presented and a board member read by title a resolution as follows, a copy of which was provided to each member of the Board of Education prior to said meeting and to everyone in attendance at said meeting who requested a copy:

RESOLUTION providing for the issue of $3,000,000 Taxable General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2020, of Community Unit School District Number 15, DeWitt, Macon and Logan Counties, Illinois, for the purpose of increasing the Working Cash Fund of said School District, providing for the levy of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on said bonds, and authorizing the sale of said bonds to School District 27, Logan County, Illinois

WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Article 20 of the School Code of the State of

Illinois (the “Act”), and all laws amendatory thereof and supplementary thereto, Community Unit School District Number 15, DeWitt, Macon and Logan Counties, Illinois (the “District”), is authorized to create and maintain a Working Cash Fund in and for the District; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to authority of the provisions of said Article 20 the Board of Education of the District (the “Board”) adopted a resolution declaring its intention to avail of the provisions of said Article and issue bonds of the District in the aggregate amount of $3,000,000 for working cash fund purposes as in and by said Article 20 provided; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to and in accordance with the Act and the provisions of Section 5 of the Local Government Debt Reform Act of the State of Illinois, as amended, notice of intention to issue said bonds pursuant to the provisions of said Article 20 was published in the Clinton Journal, the same being a newspaper of general circulation in the District, and an affidavit evidencing the publication of such notice of intention, together with a newspaper clipping of such notice as published attached thereto, have heretofore been presented to the Board and made a part of the permanent records of the Board; and

WHEREAS, more than thirty (30) days have expired since the date of the publishing of such notice of intention to issue said bonds, and no petition with the requisite number of valid signatures thereon has been filed with the Secretary of the Board requesting that the proposition to issue said bonds as authorized by the provisions of said Article 20 be submitted to the legal voters of the District; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of the Bond Issue Notification Act of the State of Illinois, as amended, the President of the Board, on the 19th day of November, 2019, executed an Order calling a public hearing (the “Hearing”) for the 17th day of December, 2019, concerning the intent of the Board to sell said bonds; and

WHEREAS, notice of the Hearing was given (i) by publication at least once not less than seven (7) nor more than thirty (30) days before the date of the Hearing in the Clinton Journal, and (ii) by posting at least 96 hours before the Hearing a copy of said notice at the principal office of the Board, which notice was continuously available for public review during the entire 96-hour period preceding the Hearing; and

WHEREAS, the Hearing was held on the 17th day of December, 2019, and at the Hearing the Board explained the reasons for the proposed bond issue and permitted persons desiring to be heard an opportunity to present written or oral testimony within reasonable time limits; and

WHEREAS, the Hearing was finally adjourned on the 17th day of December, 2019; and

WHEREAS, the Board is now authorized to issue bonds to the amount of $3,000,000 as authorized by the provisions of said Article 20 for working cash fund purposes and to levy taxes to pay principal of and interest on such bonds; and

WHEREAS, the Board deems it advisable, necessary and for the best interests of the District that $3,000,000 of the bonds so authorized be issued at this time:

NOW, THEREFORE, Be It and It Is Hereby Resolved by the Board of Education of Community Unit School District Number 15, DeWitt, Macon and Logan Counties, Illinois, as follows:

Section 1. Incorporation of Preambles. The Board hereby finds that all of the recitals contained in the preambles to this Resolution are full, true and correct and does incorporate them into this Resolution by this reference.

Section 2. Authorization. It is hereby found and determined that the working cash fund of the District be increased and the Board has been authorized by law to borrow the sum of $3,000,000 upon the credit of the District and as evidence of such indebtedness to issue bonds of the District in said amount, the proceeds of said bonds to be used for working cash fund purposes, and that it is necessary and for the best interests of the District that there be issued at this time $3,000,000 of the bonds so authorized.

Section 3. Bond Details. There be borrowed on the credit of and for and on behalf of the District the sum of $3,000,000 for the purpose aforesaid; and that bonds of the District (the “Bonds”) shall be issued in said amount and shall be designated “Taxable General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2020.” The Bonds shall be dated February 6, 2020, and shall also bear the date of authentication, shall be in fully registered form, shall be in denominations of $100,000 each and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof (but no single Bond shall represent installments of principal maturing on more than one date), shall be numbered 1 and upward, and the Bonds shall become due and payable serially (without option of prior redemption) on December 1 of each of the years, in the amounts and bearing interest per annum as follows:

YEAR OF MATURITY               PRINCIPAL AMOUNT                  RATE OF INTEREST

          2020                                       $829,000                                       2.25%

          2021                                        875,000                                        2.25%

          2022                                        893,000                                        2.75%

          2023                                        403,000                                        2.75%

The Bonds shall bear interest from their date or from the most recent interest payment date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, until the principal amount of the Bonds is paid, such interest (computed upon the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months) being payable on June 1 and December 1 of each year, commencing on December 1, 2020. Interest on each Bond shall be paid by check or draft of BOKF, N.A., St. Louis, Missouri (the “Bond Registrar”), payable upon presentation in lawful money of the United States of America, to the person in whose name such Bond is registered at the close of business on the 15th day of the month next preceding the interest payment date. The principal of the Bonds shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America at the principal office of the Bond Registrar.

The Bonds shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the President and Secretary of the Board, and shall be registered, numbered and countersigned by the manual or facsimile signature of the School Treasurer who receives the taxes of the District (the “School Treasurer”), as they shall determine, and in case any officer whose signature shall appear on any Bond shall cease to be such officer before the delivery of such Bond, such signature shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as if such officer had remained in office until delivery.

All Bonds shall have thereon a certificate of authentication substantially in the form hereinafter set forth duly executed by the Bond Registrar, as authenticating agent of the District and showing the date of authentication. No Bond shall be valid or obligatory for any purpose or be entitled to any security or benefit under this Resolution unless and until such certificate of authentication shall have been duly executed by the Bond Registrar by manual signature, and such certificate of authentication upon any such Bond shall be conclusive evidence that such Bond has been authenticated and delivered under this Resolution. The certificate of authentication on any Bond shall be deemed to have been executed by the Bond Registrar if signed by an authorized officer of the Bond Registrar, but it shall not be necessary that the same officer sign the certificate of authentication on all of the Bonds issued hereunder.

Section 4. Registration of Bonds; Persons Treated as Owners. The District shall cause books (the “Bond Register”) for the registration and for the transfer of the Bonds as provided in this Resolution to be kept at the principal office of the Bond Registrar, which is hereby constituted and appointed the registrar of the District. The District is authorized to prepare, and the Bond Registrar shall keep custody of, multiple Bond blanks executed by the District for use in the transfer and exchange of Bonds.

Upon surrender for transfer of any Bond at the principal office of the Bond Registrar, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument or instruments of transfer in form satisfactory to the Bond Registrar and duly executed by, the registered owner or his or her attorney duly authorized in writing, the District shall execute and the Bond Registrar shall authenticate, date and deliver in the name of the transferee or transferees a new fully registered Bond or Bonds of the same maturity of authorized denominations, for a like aggregate principal amount. Any fully registered Bond or Bonds may be exchanged at said office of the Bond Registrar for a like aggregate principal amount of Bond or Bonds of the same maturity of other authorized denominations. The execution by the District of any fully registered Bond shall constitute full and due authorization of such Bond and the Bond Registrar shall thereby be authorized to authenticate, date and deliver such Bond, provided, however, the principal amount of outstanding Bonds of each maturity authenticated by the Bond Registrar shall not exceed the authorized principal amount of Bonds for such maturity less previous retirements.

The Bond Registrar shall not be required to transfer or exchange any Bond during the period beginning at the close of business on the 15th day of the month next preceding any interest payment date on such Bond and ending at the opening of business on such interest payment date.

The person in whose name any Bond shall be registered shall be deemed and regarded as the absolute owner thereof for all purposes, and payment of the principal of or interest on any Bond shall be made only to or upon the order of the registered owner thereof or his or her legal representative. All such payments shall be valid and effectual to satisfy and discharge the liability upon such Bond to the extent of the sum or sums so paid.

No service charge shall be made for any transfer or exchange of Bonds, but the District or the Bond Registrar may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer or exchange of Bonds.

Section 5. Form of Bond. The Bonds shall be in substantially the following form; provided, however, that if the text of the Bond is to be printed in its entirety on the front side of the Bond, then paragraph [2] and the legend, “See Reverse Side for Additional Provisions”, shall be omitted and paragraphs [6] through [9] shall be inserted immediately after paragraph [1]:

Section 6. Sale of Bonds. The Bonds hereby authorized shall be executed as in this Resolution provided as soon after the passage hereof as may be, and thereupon be deposited with the School Treasurer, and be by said Treasurer delivered to School District #27, Logan County, Illinois (the “Purchaser”), upon receipt of the purchase price therefor, the same being $$3025,573.35; the contract for the sale of the Bonds heretofore entered into (the “Purchase Contract”) is in all respects ratified, approved and confirmed, it being hereby found and determined that the Bonds have been sold at such price and bear interest at such rates that neither the true interest cost (yield) nor the net interest rate received upon such sale exceed the maximum rate otherwise authorized by Illinois law and that the Purchase Contract is in the best interests of the District and that no person holding any office of the District, either by election or appointment, is in any manner interested, directly or indirectly, in his or her own name or in the name of any other person, association, trust or corporation, in the Purchase Contract; the surety bond executed by said Treasurer in connection with the issuance of the Bonds as required by Section 19-6 of the Act is hereby approved and shall be filed with the Regional Superintendent of Schools having jurisdiction over the District; and the Bonds before being issued shall be registered, numbered and countersigned by said Treasurer, such registration being made in a book provided for that purpose, in which shall be entered the record of the resolution authorizing the Board to borrow said money and a description of the Bonds issued, including the number, date, to whom issued, amount, rate of interest and when due.

The use by the District of the Term Sheet related to the Bonds, in substantially the form now before the Board (the “Term Sheet”), is hereby ratified, approved and authorized; the execution of the Placement Agent Agreement between the District and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, St. Louis, Missouri, in substantially the form now before the Board, is hereby authorized; the execution and delivery of the Term Sheet is hereby authorized; and the officers of the Board are hereby authorized to take any action as may be required on the part of the District to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Contract, this Resolution, the Term Sheet and the Bonds.

Section 9. Tax Levy. In order to provide for the collection of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on the Bonds as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof at maturity, there be and there is hereby levied upon all the taxable property within the District a direct annual tax for each of the years while the Bonds or any of them are outstanding, in amounts sufficient for that purpose, and that there be and there is hereby levied upon all of the taxable property in the District, the following direct annual tax, to-wit:

FOR THE YEAR                      A TAX SUFFICIENT TO PRODUCE THE SUM OF:

        2019               $917286.25     for interest and principal up to and including June 1, 2021

        2020               $920483.75     for interest and principal2021 $916361.25 for interest and principal

        2022               $408541.25     for interest and principal

Principal or interest maturing at any time when there are not sufficient funds on hand from the foregoing tax levy to pay the same shall be paid from the general funds of the District, and the fund from which such payment was made shall be reimbursed out of the taxes hereby levied when the same shall be collected.

The District covenants and agrees with the purchasers and the holders of the Bonds that so long as any of the Bonds remain outstanding, the District will take no action or fail to take any action which in any way would adversely affect the ability of the District to levy and collect the foregoing tax levy and the District and its officers will comply with all present and future applicable laws in order to assure that the foregoing taxes will be levied, extended and collected as provided herein and deposited in the fund established to pay the principal of and interest on the Bonds.

Section 8. Filing of Resolution. Forthwith upon the passage of this Resolution, the Secretary of the Board is hereby directed to file a certified copy of this Resolution with the County Clerks of DeWitt, Macon and Logan Counties, Illinois (the “County Clerks”), and it shall be the duty of the County Clerks to annually in and for each of the years 2019 to 2022, inclusive, ascertain the rate necessary to produce the tax herein levied, and extend the same for collection on the tax books against all of the taxable property within the District in connection with other taxes levied in each of said years for school purposes, in order to raise the respective amounts aforesaid and in each of said years such annual tax shall be computed, extended and collected in the same manner as now or hereafter provided by law for the computation, extension and collection of taxes for general school purposes of the District, and when collected, the taxes hereby levied shall be placed to the credit of the special fund to be designated “School Bond and Interest Fund of 2020” (the “Bond Fund”), which taxes are hereby irrevocably pledged to and shall be used only for the purpose of paying the principal of and interest on the Bonds; and a certified copy of this Resolution shall also be filed with the School Treasurer. Interest earnings on the Bond Fund and the Working Cash Fund of the District have not been earmarked or restricted by the Board for a designated purpose.

Section 9. Use of Bond Proceeds. All moneys derived from the issuance of the Bonds hereby authorized shall be used only for the purpose and in the manner provided by the Act. The principal proceeds of the Bonds and any premium received on the delivery of the Bonds are hereby appropriated to pay the costs of issuance of the Bonds and for working cash fund purposes, and that portion thereof not needed to pay such costs shall be set aside in a separate fund known and designated as the “Working Cash Fund of Community Unit School District Number 15, DeWitt, Macon and Logan Counties, Illinois,” which said fund shall be held apart and maintained as provided in Article 20 of the Act at least until all the Bonds have been retired or all the Bond proceeds have been fully spent (whichever is earlier), and shall not be used for any other purpose whatsoever. At the time of the issuance of the Bonds, the costs of issuance of the Bonds may be paid by the Purchaser on behalf of the District from the proceeds of the Bonds.

Section 10. Registered Form. The Bonds shall be issued in fully registered form and the District agrees that it will not take any action to permit the Bonds to be issued in, or converted into, bearer or coupon form.

Section 11. List of Bondholders. The Bond Registrar shall maintain a list of the names and addresses of the holders of all Bonds and upon any transfer shall add the name and address of the new Bondholder and eliminate the name and address of the transferor Bondholder.

Section 12. Duties of Bond Registrar. If requested by the Bond Registrar, the President and Secretary of the Board are authorized to execute the Bond Registrar’s standard form of agreement between the District and the Bond Registrar with respect to the obligations and duties of the Bond Registrar hereunder which may include the following:

(a) to act as bond registrar, authenticating agent, paying agent and transfer agent as provided herein;

(b) to maintain a list of Bondholders as set forth herein and to furnish such list to the District upon request, but otherwise to keep such list confidential;

(c) to cancel and/or destroy Bonds which have been paid at maturity or submitted for exchange or transfer;

(d) to furnish the District at least annually a certificate with respect to Bonds cancelled and/or destroyed; and

(e) to furnish the District at least annually an audit confirmation of Bonds paid, Bonds outstanding and payments made with respect to interest on the Bonds.

Section 13. Severability. If any section, paragraph, clause or provision of this Resolution shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the invalidity or unenforceability of such section, paragraph, clause or provision shall not affect any of the remaining provisions of this Resolution.

Section 14. Repeal. All resolutions or parts thereof in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed and this Resolution shall be in full force and effect forthwith upon its adoption.

Member R. Rogers moved and Member T. Ennis seconded the motion that said resolution as presented and read by title be adopted.

After a full and complete discussion of said resolution, the President directed the Secretary to call the roll for a vote upon the motion to adopt said resolution.

Upon the roll being called, the following members voted AYE: Dan Matthews, Tammie Ennis, Chris Hammer, John Heinlen, Stephen Oswald and Rodney Rogers.

The following members voted NAY: None

Whereupon the President declared the motion carried and said resolution duly adopted, in open meeting approved and signed said resolution and directed the Secretary to record the same in full in the records of the Board of Education of Community Unit School District Number 15, DeWitt, Macon and Logan Counties, Illinois, which was done.

Other business not pertinent to the adoption of said resolution was duly transacted at the meeting.

Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the meeting was adjourned.

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/566571/January_21__2020_Public_hearing_minutes.pdf