Cape School Board approves refinancing of 2016 bond, CTC grant proposals for 2025-26

The Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education voted to authorize the refinancing of its series 2016 bond issue during a regular meeting Monday, Feb. 24, at the Central Administrative Office.

The no-tax-increase bond — originally valued at $16,285,000 to help renovate Terry W. Kitchen Junior High School, build an addition to the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center and upgrade HVAC systems throughout the district — has an outstanding principal amount of $12,245,000. To sell the bonds, the district is required by the state to meet a minimum of 1.5% in interest savings, which it is currently achieving. The bond’s March 1, 2035, maturity date will not change, per state parameters.

“There are about $12 million in bonds that we’re refunding, so our new refunding bonds cannot exceed that amount,” Lorenzo Boyd, managing director of K-12 public schools at Stifel Institutional St. Louis, said during the meeting. “So what we're doing is, basically, giving us authorization that when the market is favorable, we'll go back into the market. Probably within the next 30 days or so.”

Boyd said the market has been “very volatile” since his original meeting with district administrators approximately four months ago. He plans to have a rating call with a credit agency in early March.

“Initially, the market was favorable,” Boyd said. “Since then, the market's been all over the place. We went from about 3% savings to all the way down to 0.2% savings. Now we're at about 1.62% in savings, so we meet all the thresholds of 1.5%. The only thing that we need to do now is get a rating call. …

“At that point, we'll be ready to sell the bonds, assuming that the market stays in our favor. So we’re about another month away, but we're hoping the market keeps going in a better direction for us.”

CTC enhancement grant

The board also voted to approve the CTC’s vocational-technical education enhancement grant proposals for the 2025-26 school year.

The grant, through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, will go toward new equipment and furnishings at CTC. It funds 75% of the total cost of equipment and 50% for software and renovation. The total estimated cost of the upgrades is $636,207, of which $472,184 would be funded by the grant and $164,023 by the school district.

“Ultimately, we're paying $0.25 on the dollar, so you can get a lot of equipment for 25%, essentially,” CTC director Brock Crowley said.