Macon Reporter

Meridian Community Unit School District 15 Board Met March 3.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Meridian Community Unit School District No. 15 Board of Education held a special meeting in the District office board room. President Jones called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm. The following members were present: Chris Jones, Monte Hogan, Rebecca Kraft, and Kara Morey. Also present: Andy Pygott, Superintendent; and Davie Pistorius.

Dave Pistorius introduced himself and proceeded to present four different options for the restructuring/refinancing of our current bonds. Before going into specifics of each scenario, he explained the 2 ways in which bonds can be restructured: Advanced (before the call date) and current (restructuring at call date). At current rates restructuring before the call dates would save money and bring the savings of the bonds to the > 2% that is required.

The four options of refinancing presented included a potential savings as follows:

1) Most savings at the end of the schedule ($529,672 at year 2034) with a total of $539,252 representing 8.76% savings with an average 1.56% interest rate.

2) A balanced savings over the entire schedule (~ $35,000 yearly) with a total of $457,427 representing 8.15% savings with an average 1.63% interest rate.

3) A balanced savings over the entire schedule (~ $29,000 yearly) with a total of $360,879 representing 6.34% savings with an average 1.84% interest rate.

4) More savings at the beginning of the schedule (~ $73,000 the first four year of the schedule and tapering significantly from there with the last two years being a ~ - $11,000 and - $1,427) with a total of $328,558 representing 6.21% savings with an average 1.86% interest rate.

Dave then went on to explain next steps if the board decided to move forward with refinancing, including selling the bonds privately (banks) or publicly. While public has an increased time and expense compared with private, current interest rates are lower and could garner more savings. In the end, both options would be presented for review before a decision made. There is also a scenario in which at the March board meeting a parameters resolution could be set so that the selling process could keep moving forward without multiple meetings by which the interest rate ceiling, savings parameters and saving schedule would need to be adhered to.

Lastly, most bond refinancing would be callable in five years.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 pm. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held March 15, 2021, 6:30 p.m.

https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1170602/3-3-21_special_meeting.pdf