KELSEYVILLE — The Kelseyville Unified School District Board of Trustees finalized reinstating positions that were eliminated in the district”s Fiscal Recovery Plan during its Aug. 16 meeting.
The board unanimously approved bringing back six secretarial, clerical and custodial positions.
The process of restoring the positions began Aug. 9 at a special board meeting. Superintendent Dave McQueen informed the board the district had received funds it had not anticipated, which prompted McQueen to ask the board to reinstate positions the board had cut during the budget cut process when the district created a Fiscal Recovery Plan. The board had prioritized positions to bring back as funds became available.
The money had come from funding for Riviera High School, a “necessary small high school” in Clear Lake Riviera. A necessary small high school is an alternative educational program.
Approximately $800,000 was secured by McQueen from the state Department of Education, with assistance from Lake County Superintendent of Schools Wally Holbrook and business manager Michelle Buell. The money would be split between last school year and the 2011-12 school year.
McQueen proposed using $382,000 to begin reinstating the highest-ranked positions and some programs cut in the recovery plan, including taking the option of closing Mountain Vista Middle School off the table, which was unanimously approved at the Aug. 9 meeting.
McQueen said the district would have the positions in place before the 2011-12 school year begins on Sept. 6. He said the district will consult the 39-month rehire list to fill the positions.
In other business, the board approved a resolution authorizing the refinancing of Measure X bonds.
This process began in July when Jonathan Edwards of Government Financial Strategies (GFS), a financial planning and advisory group based in Sacramento, gave a presentation to the board about refinancing the bond to get a better interest rate and save taxpayer money.
Measure X was approved by 79 percent of voters in November 2001. Edwards” presentation stated the bond was in the amount of $2.93 million of general obligation bonds, which are bonds issued to state or local governments that use legally available resources, such as tax revenues, to pay back the bondholders over 25 years.
The district used the bonds to build, furnish and equip a multi-purpose room at Kelseyville High School. To pay back the bonds, the district issued an annual tax to be levied on property taxes.
Edwards said taxpayers had been paying back the loan with an average interest rate of approximately 5 percent. He said the district could refinance the loan with an interest rate of 3.9 percent, which would save taxpayers an estimated $118,000 in present value over the life of the bond. The bond will be fully paid back in July 2027.
The board approved of GFS to beginning to look for bond purchasers in July with GFS to return on Aug. 16 to provide a final proposal for approval.
At the Aug. 16 meeting, McQueen said GFS found a bond purchaser that got a much lower interest rate than the one previously expected. The bid”s interest rate was 3.35 percent. This would save taxpayers an estimated $206,000 over the life of the bond.
The board unanimously approved the resolution.
