The Joplin School Board on Tuesday night refinanced bonds issued after being approved by voters in 2012, a move the district's financial adviser, G.K. Baum & Company, said will save it almost $3 million in interest payments over the life of the bonds.
Board President Jeff Koch said the district's interest rate on the bonds, which run through 2033, will decrease from 5 percent to 3 percent.
"It was funds we had to pay anyway, so we'll take the savings," Koch said. "So we're going to save 2 percent interest, which equated to $2.8 million over the next (15 years)."
The bonds were approved in April 2012 by Jasper and Newton County voters of the district and issued in August of that year to assist the school district with rebuilding after the 2011 tornado ruined multiple district buildings.
The district also approved its annual audit report, which was presented by Diana Closterman, of Westbrook and Co., of Richmond, Missouri. Closterman told the board the audit discovered no issues and represented an improvement from the previous year's report. Closterman said the district's finances, including reserves, had increased over the previous year.
Steven Gilbreth, assistant superintendent of learning services, presented the board the results of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's annual performance reviews, which were released earlier this month.
The district saw a decrease in its overall score over the previous year, dropping to 83.6 percent. Joplin’s score, which is calculated by a total number of points earned out of a predetermined possibility in various categories, was just off from previous years — 86.4 in 2016, 86.8 in 2015 and 85 percent in 2014 — but well above the 78.6 percent it posted in 2013. The district received the exact same number of points in the academic achievement category as 2016 and 2015, and has increased that number to 48 from 39 in 2013.
The areas that accounted for Joplin's decline appear to primarily be attendance, and college and career readiness. The state's attendance standards require 90 percent of students to be in attendance at least 90 percent of the time.
Gilbreth presented the board with various goals and action plans he said the district will undertake to improve overall APR scores.
The board also authorized a change order proposed by Crossland Construction for the Joplin Early Childhood Center. The total cost of the project changes approved is slightly more than $37,000. While the board has previously authorized change orders for groundwater drainage, a Crossland representative said the largest portion of Tuesday's change was a $14,461 project to improve surface water drainage.
