Low interest rates mean savings for the district
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
EAST MARLBOROUGH — While the costs of most things continue to rise, it appears that one big-ticket purchase — the renovation of Unionville High School — is about to become appreciably cheaper, thanks to a bond refinancing approved Monday night by the Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education.
The refinancing plans for reworking $60.6 million in remaining debt on the 2009 bond issue — which paid for the expansion and renovation of the school — even though the bonds are technically not eligible for being called until 2019. To work around this, the district will set aside funds in escrow to pay off the old bond issue and take advantage of interest rates currently much lower than the roughly 5% the original bond issue is paying.
Initial estimates suggest that the district stands to save about $8.19 million over the life of the bond issue — parceled out in yearly savings through the term.
The board approved the refinancing 7-0, with board directors Michael Rock and Steven Simonson unable to attend the meeting.
The board also formally approved a bid to replace the fuel tank at its transportation depot at cost of $149,500.
In other news, Director of Grounds and Facilities Rick Hostetler updated the board on the status of the renovation of the Patton Middle School auditorium, which is expected to be completed in a couple of weeks. Hostetler noted that the transformation of the facility was rather striking and invited board members to tour the facility once work is compete. After some discussion the board opted to move its October formal meeting to Patton, to offer both a chance for the board to see it up close, as well as show the work to the community at large.
Also, it was announced that the Unionville Recreation Association will be allowed to run sports programs at Patton on Sundays — a change made to open gym time for school groups such as indoor drum line to use the high school gym during the week. To keep costs down, Hostetler said the plan is to use one custodian between Patton and Unionville High School — where URA started Sunday basketball last year.
Lastly, the district’s Director of Business & Operations, Robert Cochran, informed the board that the Act I limit for the 2017-18 budget will be 2.5% — somewhat higher than initially forecast.
