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DMPS board selects Bank of America to underwrite 2026 school bond sale; resolution approved 7–0
Summary
The Des Moines Independent Comm School District board voted unanimously June 16 to accept sealed bids and direct the sale of the district's 2026 general obligation school bonds after staff and its municipal adviser recommended Bank of America Securities as the winning bidder. Officials said the competitive sale reduced the district's total interest cost and will translate to savings for taxpayers; final issuance documents will be authorized at the next meeting.
The Des Moines Independent Comm School District board on June 16 approved the acceptance of sealed bids for its 2026 general obligation school bonds and directed staff to proceed with the sale after selecting Bank of America Securities as the winning bidder. The motion passed by a 7–0 roll‑call vote.
Superintendent Smith and district financial staff told the board that seven competitive bids were submitted in a blind reverse auction. The district reported an S&P rating of A for the issue and said the total interest cost (TIC) the district had modeled was approximately 4.03 percent; after restructuring repayment years the effective TIC reported to the board dropped to about 4.02 percent. Staff said that change lowered interest costs by more than $1 million compared with the conservative budget estimate presented to the board.
Suzanne, the district’s municipal adviser, described the bidding process and announced: “The winning bid came from Bank of America Securities out of New York, New York.” She said the second‑place bidder was Truest Securities and named other national bidders in the syndicate. The board was told a $1 million good‑faith deposit from the winning bidder had been received and that final bond proceeds were expected in late July (staff referenced a July 29 timeframe for receipt of proceeds and a subsequent board authorization of issuance documents).
Board members voted first to accept the sealed bids and later to approve a resolution directing the sale of the bonds to the winning bidder. For the resolution (E1A) the board heard that Bank of America would be notified to begin ticketing and that the board would authorize the formal issuance documents at the next meeting. The vote on the resolution carried 7–0.
Votes at a glance: agenda approval — motion moved and seconded and approved 7–0; consent agenda (including bills previously authorized and certified for payment) — approved 7–0 (meeting record shows the amount read aloud as “3,36,259.77”); sealed‑bid award for bond sale — approved 7–0; resolution directing sale of Series 2026 bonds (E1A) — approved 7–0.
What’s next: staff will present the formal issuance documents for authorization at the next board meeting and complete closing steps with the winning underwriter. District staff and the municipal adviser emphasized that the competitive process, the A rating and the final TIC together produced interest‑cost savings compared with the conservative estimates in the budget.
The board did not discuss the final par (principal) amount for the bonds in detail during the public discussion recorded in the meeting transcript; staff indicated that the issuance documents to be authorized at the next meeting will set the final amounts and legal terms.
