North Polk board approves $500,000 loan package, bus sales, cross‑country donation and small meal-price hike

The North Polk Community School District Board of Directors on an evening vote approved a $500,000 general obligation school capital loan (series 2025) and a set of related administrative steps to issue and manage that loan, authorized sale of two aging buses through Purple Wave, accepted a family donation to add a finishing arch to the cross‑country course, and approved a 10¢ increase in most student meal prices for fiscal 2026.

The $500,000 loan was described in board discussion as financing tied to the district’s scoreboard project. Board members said they have commitments from roughly 15–20 businesses and major donors to repay the loan with donations over the next five years; once the scoreboard debt is repaid, those donation revenues are intended to support the activities department. The board approved engagement of bond counsel Ahlers & Cooney, appointed UMB Bank of West Des Moines as paying agent/note registrar/transfer agent, and approved a tax‑exemption certificate intended to secure a tax‑exempt interest rate on the loan. Motions to approve the bond counsel engagement, the sale/issuance resolutions, the paying‑agent appointment and the tax‑exemption certificate carried unanimously in recorded roll calls (votes recorded as yes…