Bond Refinancing Results in $856,000 Savings
Refinancing of a portion of the Series 2008 general obligation bonds will result in a net savings of $856,165 for East Central College.
A resolution authorizing the issuance of East Central College’s Series 2015 General Obligation Refunding Bonds was approved by college trustees at their July 22 meeting.
“Because of a favorable interest rate environment, this is a good time to refinance a portion of the Series 2008 bonds maturing from 2018 through 2026,” noted ECC President Jon Bauer.
The issuance of $15.8 million of general obligation bonds for the construction of classrooms and other facilities for health and science programs was approved by voters in the East Central College District in August 2006.
Greg Bricker with George K. Baum and Company told trustees that the bond resolution authorizes the levy and collection of property taxes to fund the debt service necessary for repayment of the 2015 bonds. “These bonds were designated as bank qualified,” Bricker stated. “That designation opened up the pool of investors to include commercial banks. They were brought to market July 21 and nearly $2 million of the $7,495,000 was purchased by local banks.”
“I’m pleased that we can restructure the debt in such a way that we can keep the same levy,” noted Bauer. “Refinancing these bonds saves money for the taxpayer and enables us to maintain our commitment to voters that we would not increase the debt service levy.”
Bricker stated that early next year the college should be able to refinance the Series 2006 bonds that were also a part of the issue voters approved in 2006. “Refinancing that should result in a savings in the $350,000 range,” noted Bricker.
Trustees also gave approval to a continuing disclosure compliance policy. That policy details ECC’s obligation to provide for disclosure of bond information to investors as required by the Security and Exchange Commission after the issuance of the Series 2015 bonds.
George K. Baum and Company was selected in May to underwrite and finance the bonds. That firm worked with attorneys at Thompson Coburn to prepare the resolution.
Personnel
The promotion in rank for several faculty members was approved by trustees.
This spring a committee met to consider the applications for rank and recommended the promotion of four full-time instructors. Tom Fitts and Dr. Parvadha Govindaswamy were promoted from assistant professor to associate professor. Dr. Jennifer Judd and Dr. Fatemeh Nichols were promoted from associate professor to professor.
The promotions were made based on the criteria established within the rank and promotion policy which includes advanced study, teaching, service to the college, student recruitment and leadership.
Board members approved the appointment of two full-time faculty members and accepted one resignation.
With the start of the 2015 fall semester, Elizabeth Cantrell will teach biology and anatomy/physiology. Cantrell earned a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree in biological studies from Saint Louis University. Since 2013 she has worked as a graduate research/teaching assistant at SLU. Prior to that Cantrell worked as a field research assistant at UMC for more than a year.
Tiffany Voss will join the nursing faculty in Rolla this fall. Voss completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and is currently enrolled in the graduate nursing program there. Voss began working as an RN in the labor and delivery unit at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan in 2012. She previously worked at St. Clare Hospital.
Trustees accepted the resignation of Sheila Driemeyer, associate director of library services for the past three years.
Action Taken on Three Board Policies
Trustees reaffirmed the policies related to conflict of interest and personal financial disclosure statements as they relate to board members. The reaffirmation fulfills the requirements of the Missouri Ethics Commission.
A revision to the policy regarding employee retirement was also approved. The change aligns the policy with the regulations and guidelines of the Public School Retirement System and the Public Education Employee Retirement System which require a minimum of five years of service for retirement benefits.
In 2013 the policy was revised to require administrators, professional staff and teaching faculty to notify the college of retirement at least 90 days prior to the effective retirement date, with support staff giving at least 60 days’ notice prior to the retirement date.