Officials at the Methow Valley School District and North Cascades Bank have agreed to refinance a bond the school district issued in 2009 to replace the roof at Liberty Bell Junior-Senior High School.
The refinance reduces the interest rate the district will pay from 5% to 2.42%. Taxpayers will save about $132,000 over the remaining lifetime of the bond, which matures in 2028, Superintendent Tom Venable said in a press release.
The new bond must be approved by the Methow Valley School Board, which is scheduled to consider it on Wednesday (Oct. 9).
“This just makes good economic sense. It’s a win-win-win situation … benefiting our schools, local business, and our taxpayers,” school board member Frank Kline said in the press release.
Enrollment meets budget
Student enrollment figures at the start of the new school year bode well for the district’s 2019-20 budget. The school district counted 687.44 full-time-equivalent students, or FTEs, in September.
State funding to school districts is based on enrollment, and the Methow Valley School Board in July approved a budget that anticipated receiving money for 667.66 FTEs in 2019-20.
The school district finished the 2018-2019 year with nearly 691 FTEs but also graduated 56 students from an unusually large senior class.
Fifty-two kindergarteners enrolled at Methow Valley Elementary School last month, almost completely replacing the outgoing class of 2019.
