WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau School District’s Finance Director had his day in the sun on Monday.
“I can’t even find the words to capture how exciting it was in my office this morning for a few of us- selling $100 million worth of bonds,” Tess told the Board of Education.
The auction was scheduled to run for 15 minutes, but the action didn’t start until there were three minutes left on the clock.
“J.P. Morgan made the first bid at about 4.04%, and 37 bids later J.P. Morgan was the lone bidder left standing. They bid, I think, 10 times [for the bonds]. So watching them jockey for position for finance geeks like myself- that was pretty exciting to watch,” said Tess.
He added that each time a new low bidder would emerge in the final seconds, the length of the auction was extended. Meaning that it went over the 15-minute initial timeframe.
J.P. Morgan’s winning bid actually came in at 3.89%, which is good news for taxpayers in the district as well. “We were projecting a true interest cost of about 4.02% in our mill rate drop of about 44 cents. We beat that by 13 basis points. So at 3.89%, we will have no problem dropping the fund 39 mill rate by one cent more than we talked about in April, that 44 cents.”
According to Tess, he was fielding questions about the district’s creditworthiness in the days and hours leading up to Monday’s sale.
The Board also approved the timeline for planning and construction of all the projects associated with the referendum. Some will start planning immediately with construction next summer. Some projects will not enter the planning stage until the summer of 2023, with construction lasting into 2025.
HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT CURRICULUM CLARIFIED, NEW CHARTER SCHOOL TO BE EXPLORED
Also on Monday district leaders gave final approval to revised language in the human growth and development curriculum. According to the district, that language now reads “Instruction will include “the health benefits, side effects, and proper use of contraceptives and barrier methods approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration to prevent pregnancy and barrier methods approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration to prevent sexually transmitted infections.”
The district faced public backlash last month when a copy of the new standards, which were drafted by the district’s consultants, removed language calling for instruction on the use of condoms and other methods of birth control. District leaders said that was never the goal, but instead an oversight by both the district and the consultants.
The board also voted to approve the exploration of a new charter school that would focus on outdoor, hands-on learning. Superintendent Keith Hilts says parents can expect to see surveys this summer and some public input sessions on the proposal.
The new school could come with as much as $700,000 in start-up costs, though the district can apply for grant funding to offset some of that. More information on the proposed school, which would serve students in 4K through 4th grade, is expected later this year.
