July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
SA to do buyout (8/11/04)
School system to take advantage of pension bond
BERNE — The South Adams School Board has taken a step toward entering into the state’s bond buyout program for retiring teachers.
Board members voted Tuesday to pay approximately $7,000 to prepare documents to submit to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance to be granted permission to sell bonds.
“I think everyone benefits (from the buyout program.)... It stops the growth of the debt which benefits the community. It also guarantees retirement (for teachers),” South Adams superintendent Connie Bailey said this morning.
The board voted to borrow approximately $855,000 to fund retirement and severance liability for retired and retiring teachers. That bond amount will be paid back in eight years with an estimated $230,894 in interest.
The school corporation has until Dec. 31 to have the bonds issued by the state.
The school has about $3 million in unfunded liability for retirement and severance payments. The bond money will be used for the buyout and set aside funds for future unfunded obligations.
Bond payments would be made with property tax revenues that otherwise would have gone for capital projects and bus replacement, and will not require an addition to the tax rate.
To complete the buyout program by the December deadline, the teachers’ association and the school board will have to reach and approve an agreement on use of bond funds.
The board hired Ice Miller Legal & Business Advisors of Indianapolis to serve as the board’s bond counsel.
A public hearing on the buyout is set for Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.
Also Tuesday, board members received the 2005 school corporation budget of $12,640,606. This budget is up $2,086,077 from this year’s budget of $10,554,529.
“Since the assessed value has changed so much, we felt that we had to estimate high,” Bailey said about the more than $2 million budget increase.
The estimated tax rate would be about $2.26 per $100 of assessed valuation — up from this year’s rate of $1.29.
The board voted to advertise the budget on Monday, Aug. 16 and Aug. 23. A public hearing will be held on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 a.m., and the board is set to adopt the budget at a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
In other business, board members approved a request from the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Geneva Proud to include South Adams Middle School on the Historic Geneva Walking Tour.
The approval is pending a letter to the school board from these groups stating it will not lose any authority over the building.
The tour includes 41 buildings in Geneva and was sponsored by Geneva Proud, the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and an Indiana Historic Preservation Education Grant from the Indiana Humanities Council and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.
Also, the board heard an update from Bailey on summer maintenance projects at South Adams High School.
Bailey said carpet still needs to be installed in several classrooms, but the work is expected to be completed by the first day of school on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
Additional work completed after Aug. 24 will be done after school hours, she added.
The approximately $560,000 in projects is expected to be complete by Sept. 20.
Also Tuesday, board members voted to:
•Hire Lisa Sheets of Bluffton as a language arts teacher at the middle school.
•Pay F&F Painters of Berne a $15,000 partial payment for its work painting the exterior siding at SAHS.
The project, which is expected to be completed in a week, totaled $20,000.[[In-content Ad]]
Board members voted Tuesday to pay approximately $7,000 to prepare documents to submit to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance to be granted permission to sell bonds.
“I think everyone benefits (from the buyout program.)... It stops the growth of the debt which benefits the community. It also guarantees retirement (for teachers),” South Adams superintendent Connie Bailey said this morning.
The board voted to borrow approximately $855,000 to fund retirement and severance liability for retired and retiring teachers. That bond amount will be paid back in eight years with an estimated $230,894 in interest.
The school corporation has until Dec. 31 to have the bonds issued by the state.
The school has about $3 million in unfunded liability for retirement and severance payments. The bond money will be used for the buyout and set aside funds for future unfunded obligations.
Bond payments would be made with property tax revenues that otherwise would have gone for capital projects and bus replacement, and will not require an addition to the tax rate.
To complete the buyout program by the December deadline, the teachers’ association and the school board will have to reach and approve an agreement on use of bond funds.
The board hired Ice Miller Legal & Business Advisors of Indianapolis to serve as the board’s bond counsel.
A public hearing on the buyout is set for Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.
Also Tuesday, board members received the 2005 school corporation budget of $12,640,606. This budget is up $2,086,077 from this year’s budget of $10,554,529.
“Since the assessed value has changed so much, we felt that we had to estimate high,” Bailey said about the more than $2 million budget increase.
The estimated tax rate would be about $2.26 per $100 of assessed valuation — up from this year’s rate of $1.29.
The board voted to advertise the budget on Monday, Aug. 16 and Aug. 23. A public hearing will be held on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 6:30 a.m., and the board is set to adopt the budget at a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
In other business, board members approved a request from the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and Geneva Proud to include South Adams Middle School on the Historic Geneva Walking Tour.
The approval is pending a letter to the school board from these groups stating it will not lose any authority over the building.
The tour includes 41 buildings in Geneva and was sponsored by Geneva Proud, the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and an Indiana Historic Preservation Education Grant from the Indiana Humanities Council and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.
Also, the board heard an update from Bailey on summer maintenance projects at South Adams High School.
Bailey said carpet still needs to be installed in several classrooms, but the work is expected to be completed by the first day of school on Tuesday, Aug. 24.
Additional work completed after Aug. 24 will be done after school hours, she added.
The approximately $560,000 in projects is expected to be complete by Sept. 20.
Also Tuesday, board members voted to:
•Hire Lisa Sheets of Bluffton as a language arts teacher at the middle school.
•Pay F&F Painters of Berne a $15,000 partial payment for its work painting the exterior siding at SAHS.
The project, which is expected to be completed in a week, totaled $20,000.[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD