Elementary School bond sale OK'd by board

Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork Elementary School Board of Trustees approved the sale of the elementary school bond last week to a Minneapolis-based company.

The $5.5 million bond sale is the latest in a series of steps taken by the board following the levy's passage in October.

Bigfork Schools Superintendent Russ Kinzer said that the recent drop in interest rates made for the "perfect time" to sell the bond. Accounting firm D.A. Davidson had been hired to consult on the project and all figures presented to voters last fall were based on a 5-percent interest rate.

The bond was sold to Stifel, Nicholas and Co. at a rate of 3.45-percent. Kinzer said that interest drop will save $54,000 each year of the 15-year bond and $815,000 in overall savings from interest.

"It will cost less to the tax payers right from the beginning," Kinzer said.

There were five separate bids for the bond and it was sold to the lowest bidder.