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School board adopts up-to-$850,000 lease‑purchase plan to finance elementary school secure entry
Summary
The School Board of Independent School District No. 294 approved an amended resolution authorizing a lease‑purchase financing of up to $850,000 (true interest not to exceed 6%) to build a secure entry at an elementary school; the board retained Baker Tilly as municipal advisor and Kennedy and Graven as bond counsel.
The School Board of Independent School District No. 294, Houston Public School District, voted to amend and restate a resolution authorizing a lease‑purchase financing not to exceed $850,000 to fund construction of a secure entry at the district’s elementary school.
The board’s resolution, read aloud at the meeting, authorizes the district to enter into a lease‑purchase agreement under Minnesota Statutes section 465.71 and section 126C.40 and directs use of the district’s lease levy authority to make lease payments. The resolution sets a financing cap of $850,000 and specifies that the true interest rate on the lease shall not exceed 6 percent. The board also authorized retention of Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC as municipal advisor and Kennedy and Graven Chartered as bond counsel to assist with drafting documents and completing the financing process.
Board members discussed methods for selling the lease, including competitive sale or negotiated underwriting, and authorized district officials, with advice from the municipal advisor, to select an underwriter and proceed with document preparation. A prior declaration of intent to reimburse certain project costs from lease proceeds was incorporated into the resolution.
A board member noted the district will seek both public and private purchasers to broaden the pool of potential buyers. “We’re broadening the scope of the finance institutions,” a board member said, adding that construction is continuing and that staff had already contacted an underwriter.
The motion to adopt the amended resolution was seconded by Nikki; a roll call vote was taken and the board declared the resolution passed. The board directed staff and authorized officials to review proposals for purchase of the lease and return recommendations to the board for ratification.
Next steps: authorized officials, with the municipal advisor, will make sale‑method recommendations and work with bond counsel to complete the lease documents for board consideration.
