Board approves $20 million general-obligation bond issuance; $7 million for new projects, $13 million to refinance debt

The Hickman Mills C-1 Board of Education on Monday approved a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of $20 million in general-obligation bonds, a measure officials said will refinance prior obligations and produce roughly $7 million in new project funds.

Lorenzo Boy, managing director of public finance at Stifel, told the board the sale drew more than $100 million of orders for $20 million of bonds, which helped lower interest rates by about five basis points on most maturities. He said about $13 million of the sale will refinance three prior series and roughly $7 million will be available for new projects; the district is expected to receive the funds after closing on June 17.

“About 13 million was to refinance those three series of bonds and then another 7 million is going to be towards new money projects,” Boy said, adding that the district’s underlying rating was affirmed at A‑minus and the bonds sold through a direct-deposit program carried an enhanced AA+ rating.

Board members moved the resolution — formally described in the motion as “a resolution authorizing and directing the issuance, sale, and delivery of General Obligation Bonds, Direct Deposit Program Series 2026A and Taxable General Obligation Bonds, Missouri Direct Deposit Program Series 2026B of the Hickman Mill C‑1 School District, Jackson County, Missouri” — and voted by roll call to approve it.

Director Irene Kendrick seconded the motion; the roll call recorded affirmative votes from the board members present.

Superintendent Dr. Carpenter and district finance staff said the bond proceeds, together with a debt-levy transfer approved by voters, are expected to free up operating capacity in the district’s budget. Miss Cox, who presented the financial update earlier in the meeting, said the combined actions will generate about $3.3–$3.4 million in additional operating capacity annually with no sunset.

The board’s approval authorizes the district to levy and collect the annual tax needed to pay principal and interest on the bonds and to execute related documents. Thompson Coburn was presented separately as the continuing-disclosure counsel for reporting tied to the bond issuance.

Next steps: district officials said the transaction is scheduled to close June 17, when the district will receive the proceeds and begin to apply the refinancing and new‑money allocations.

Sources: Board meeting presentation and public remarks by Lorenzo Boy; finance presentation by Miss Cox; formal motion and roll-call vote recorded during the meeting.