Prior to the regular meeting of the Watonga School Board, there was a bit of housekeeping to be done in the form of a special meeting. That gathering was to arrange the sale of the slightly more than $2 million in general obligation bonds the patrons allowed the district to issue.
The bond issue is similar to a citizen requesting a new car loan from their bank. The patrons – or taxpayers in – the district agree to allow property taxes to be collected for a limited time at a slightly higher rate to repay the bonds, which are usually for construction or other large expenditures. That agreement is in the form of an election question. Watonga asked for and received permission in 2022 for a bond issue for new facilities and improvements at both the high school and elementary campuses. That work is underway.
A financial consultant – in this case Stephen Mc-Donald and Associates – then sells the bonds to bidders. The sale is usually to the bidder that offers the lowest interest rate. That institution may then sell bonds to its investors or hold them as part of its portfolio.
McDonald was able to negotiate the sale of $2,090,000 in bonds to First Bankers Banc Securities, Inc., out of St. Louis. That bidder offered an average rate of 6.098% and an interest cost of $254,896 vs the next lowest cost of $254,917.
The financial institution delivers the lump sum to the district, which then repays the bonds with interest over time.
Once that special meeting was adjourned, the regular meeting began. One of the highlights of the discussion was the change in the school food provider. For the 2023-24 school year, the provider will be Keystone.
Several facets of the Keystone proposal besides the lowest price made it the preferred choice, according to Kim Coney, child nutrition director. One was the integrated check points that ensure each child is consuming an appropriate mix of food groups; another is the flexibility in the menu planning. Keystone is open to using menus already tried and true at the various schools it serves.
There will be some changes to the salad bar but that option is included in the hot food line cost, meaning that if a student isn’t fond of the hot lunch, they still can select to eat salad that day instead.
Additionally, there is a to-go program where students or parents can pre-order a lunch option through the app. Hopes are to curb the number of upper level students who choose to leave campus for lunch and risk being tardy on their return as well as to engage younger students who might not want either of the hot line options, but would willingly select one of the pre-order options. The to-go app choice should also reduce the amount of food waste.
Keystone is also hopeful it can retain all the lunchroom staff at the schools. The returning staff will be offered a higher wage – around $12 an hour – as well as being eligible for benefits through Keystone. They may also choose to work a 40-hour week.
“But the biggest thing was communication,” Coney said. She detailed spending weeks waiting for a call back from another food service supplier. “I always got call backs (from Keystone) really fast,” she said. “That was key. For me it wasn’t just the best and lowest price, but we can still save $25,000.”
“And it’s knowing how important it is to our child nutrition program,” added Superintendent Kyle Hilterbran. “The $12 an hour and insurance, a 40-hour week, that’s a huge thing,” he finished.