Onalaska School Board locks financing on $25 million bond tranche, adopts budget amendments and approves safety and equipment upgrades

The Onalaska School District Board of Education on Monday approved a resolution to lock the interest terms for the final $25 million tranche of previously authorized borrowing after a competitive municipal bond sale held that morning.

Eric Kass, director of public finance at PMA Securities, told the board the district received nine bids and the winning bidder was UBS Financial Services with a 3.49% interest rate. "We executed a competitive sale in the marketplace this morning at 10:15, and we received very good response from the market," Kass said, summarizing the results and the financing plan.

Kass said the district plans to amortize the $25 million tranche over 19 years — one year shorter than the statutory maximum the team discussed — which he estimated would save about $2.5 million in interest compared with a longer amortization. He also said the proposal would keep the…