EM school board approves the sale of $9.6 million in bonds for referendum projects
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound Board of Education has approved the sale of $9.6 million in general obligation bonds to finance a portion of the $15.7 million in referendum projects approved by voters in the April election.
The Elk Mound school board approved two resolutions at the May 18 meeting related to referendum financing: a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of a $9.6 million bond anticipation note, and a resolution authorizing the issuance and establishing parameters for the sale of $9.6 million in general obligation refunding bonds.
The school district is only financing $9.6 million this year. Amounts under $10 million are “bank qualified,” and there are tax incentives to purchase smaller issues of bonds, said Eric Wright, district administrator.
Issuing the bonds in two parts, $9.6 million this year and $6.1 million next year, will save the school district $300,000 in interest, Wright said.
In other matters related to the referendum projects, the Elk Mound Board of Education approved a contract with SDS Architects and also approved a contract with Rettler Civil Engineering.
A contract with MEP Associates, an engineer consulting company, was put on hold and is expected to be approved at the June meeting.
Graduation
Although Elk Mound High School has been handing out diplomas to the Class of 2020 on a scheduled-appointment basis, the school district hopes to be able to hold a graduation ceremony sometime this summer, Wright said.
Graduation could possibly be held July 15 or August 5, he said.
The goal is to evaluate and see what the school district is allowed to do in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic and whether a gymnasium full of people will be allowed, Wright said.
One possibility for graduation would be doing a ceremony for half of the class at a time, he said, noting that if in-person graduation ceremonies are not possible, the school district could hold a virtual graduation ceremony.
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has put much of the school district’s business on hold for the time being.
Wright had hoped to be able to update the Board of Education on the budget process for the 2020-2021 school year, but there is too much uncertainty right now concerning state aid, he said.
Public and private schools in Wisconsin have been closed since March 19, and students have been working from home.
May 27th will be the last new instructional day in the school district, and students will have “make up” time from May 28 to June 1 to get caught up, Wright said.
Students will be able to drop off educational materials, such as Chromebooks and textbooks, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. June 2 and 3, he said.
Drop-off times will be held at each building, and at Mound View Elementary, each grade will have a specific time to drop off their materials, he said.
By having a time for each elementary grade, it is hoped that students will have an opportunity to see their teacher and to say good-bye for the summer, Wright said.
The buses will be going out to collect materials June 4 and 5, he said.
Meals will be delivered to students through June 26. Right now the school district is delivering meals, or allowing students to pick up meals, three days per week. In June, the school district buses will be delivering five breakfasts and five lunches one day per week, Wright said.
No summer school programming will be held in June, and the school district will evaluate the situation for July and August, he said.
As for coming back to school, freshmen orientation will be held August 26 and 27, and “welcome back” academies will be held at Mound View Elementary and Elk Mound Middle School on those dates as well, Wright said.
Regular classes will start on September 1, he said.
Other business
In other business, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Accepted the resignation of Jacob Stuttgen as the archery club coach. Stuttgen teaches fifth grade in the school district.
• Approved language updates for policies related to special board meetings, Early College Credit program, Start College Now, and services for English language learners. Many of the updates were related to references to statutes, Wright said.
During a closed session, the Elk Mound Board of Education:
• Approved hiring Jen Stoiber as the middle school volleyball coach. Stoiber teaches fifth grade in the Elk Mound school district.
• Approved support staff assignments.
The Elk Mound Board of Education meets next on June 22.