Second phase of referendum promissory note sales presented to board

By Andrew Harrington
Posted 1/14/25

ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Community School District Board of Education established the parameters for the sale of $11,045,000 in general obligation promissory notes, approving a resolution …

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Second phase of referendum promissory note sales presented to board

Posted

ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Community School District Board of Education established the parameters for the sale of $11,045,000 in general obligation promissory notes, approving a resolution during Monday’s meeting.

This approval came as Phase II out of the district’s approved referendum, as Phase I saw the approval of $14.4 million to reach the $25 million total.

Debby Brunett of Baird Public Finance presented included parameters that the amount cannot exceed $11,045,000, the True Interest Cost cannot exceed 5.25% and a flexible sale date.

In Phase I, the district closed with a 4.46% final interest rate versus the planned 5.50% in the referendum.

“Now, interest rates today are actually a little higher than that, but we positioned the district well in the financing and all rates right now are still lower than what we used in the referendum,” Burnett said. “Still a good time to borrow historically.”

Entering Phase II, Baird used a 4.7% interest rate in their planning data, rising above the Phase I number and well below the referendum planned 5.5%. Burnett said they did the larger phase first because they knew what the interest rate would be, avoiding the risk of an increase.

The effect is that if interest went up like it did, it would alter the smaller portion. If the interest did go down, there was potential for the district to cut a year of the 21-year repayment to still have a positive impact. Another decision that had the same reasoning was to have the Phase I repayment be largely backloaded while Phase II fills in the earlier years. This causes more of the interest burden to fall into Phase I where the interest rate was known.

Interest and repayment numbers for Phase II that were presented were all current estimates, as the number cannot be finalized until the sale becomes official.

After the approval, Baird and the district will continue the steps of the process until the tentative signing date in early spring.

 

Job descriptions

The board approved a pair of job descriptions in areas the district is expected to explore candidates. First was for the role of financial specialist.

Superintendent Brian Nadeau said this position allows current staff member Ashley Halverson to “focus on HR and grant writing.” The district office would go up to three people focusing on finances for a transition period before dialing back to two to allow a focus on HR and grant writing.

“This position is going to be probably difficult to fill,” Nadeau said. “If we can’t find the right person, we may just not fill it.”

Nadeau said they would like to have a 12-month transition period to get the new hire comfortable with the entirety of the district’s financial cycle. Each month without a hire will decrease this transition period, and Nadeau said they will not go below a six-month cycle to allow the hire to experience annual budgeting and audit processes.

Second was the approval of a high school administrative assistant (financial focus). Tammy Blodgett currently holds the position, and while Nadeau said no formal paperwork has been filed, her retirement is expected.

Blodgett has spent over 25 years with the district, with members of the board having nothing but great things to say about what she meant to the schools.

“She’s as high quality of an employee as we’ve had in our district,” Board Member Mark Stoesz said. “Tammy was my secretary for 16 years, and, obviously as a secretary, she did everything. She was off the charts good.”

Personnel

The board approved the following personnel changes:

Hires: Tyler Buhr, long term substitute teacher; Mollee Gruszynski, high school science intern second semester; Faith Iwerks, long term substitute teacher; Robin Smith, high school food service.

Transfer: Lisa Maier, from high school food service to elementary food service.

 

Other business

  • Drew a ballot order of Julie Lundstrom, followed by Charlie Kummer, followed by Michael Peterson for the spring board election. Vice President Susan Beck is in her final stretch as a member of the board, and will vacate her spot when the elected members are added.
  • Authorized Board Member and Clerk Kurt Buckner as the board’s Wisconsin State Education Convention delegate.
  • Acknowledged the staff and community members who helped with the Reality Check event and the staff who helped with the middle school’s Winterfest. The Reality Check provided students with a look ahead at their future of budgeting and dealing with life’s challenges.
  • Approved no limit on open enrollment availability for regular education in the 2025-26 school year and zero seats available for open enrollment applicants with special education services, applying for open enrollment in early childhood and early childhood speech and language and students across emotional, intellectual and behavioral disabilities.
Ellsworth Community School District, Ellsworth School Board, referendum, obligation bonds, financing