Board approves $3 million CD renewal and names Citizens Bank primary depository; monthly financials reviewed

The Rockcastle County Board of Education approved a 12-month renewal of a $3,000,000 certificate of deposit at Citizens Bank, and selected Citizens Bank as the district’s primary depository after reviewing two RFP responses.

Speaker 2 presented the monthly financial report and said the district received its first capital outlay deposit and made bond payments totaling $278,140 charged to the building fund. On banking, staff reported two responses to the depository RFP (Community Trust Bank and Citizens Bank); Citizens offered the higher rate (federal funds rate plus 50 basis points) and the board voted to designate Citizens as the primary bank. Staff said the transition could take three to six months to update accounts and notify state and federal partners.

Staff emphasized safeguards negotiated in the RFP, including account monitoring and guarantees, and noted a plan to leave previous accounts open temporarily to ensure checks clear and automatic payments (for example, state disbursements) transition smoothly. Staff also said they will notify the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) and other partners about the bank change.

Why it matters: Institutional banking relationships and how the district invests cash affect liquidity, yield on funds and the mechanics of payroll and vendor payments. A three- to six-month transition period means staff must coordinate agency notifications and testing to avoid disruptions to payments.

Board action and next steps: The board approved the CD renewal and the bank selection. Staff will begin the transition process and coordinate updates with KBE and payment partners; the transcript does not disclose the exact interest rate or the detailed RFP scoring.