Neil Branham from LJ Hart & Company presented information to the Bloomfield School Board regarding the issuance and sale of General Obligation Refunding Bonds.
Branham said the interest rates were 4.8 to 5 percent in 2018. He said the municipal bond rates are a little lower now.
Branham said the ten year treasury notes are the bench marks they normally use to determine the interest rate. He said the interest on the treasury note was about 4.08 three days prior to the meeting. Now it is in the 3.4 range. Branham said investors are a little more eager to purchase the bonds.
He said the district will pay back a maturity value of $230,000 and the investors are willing to give them $235,135.90 to get a four percent interest rate. Branham said this hold the investor's value better.
This refinance will save the district $97,504.45 according to Branham. The board voted to accept the refinance.
Superintendent Toni Hill presented the test scores from the Annual Performance Report (APR). She said this is the first year of calculations with the MSIP6 , which means the scores cannot be compared to previous years. She shared the report from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
The scores come from the MAP Testing during the 2021-22 school year. In English Language Arts the district had 10.1% of students score below basic (better than the state average of 18.4), 43.4% scored basic (better than the state average of 38.4), 33.3% scored proficient (better than the state average of 27.5) and 13.2% scored in the advanced range (just below the state average of 15.8).
In Mathematics the district had 14.8% of students score below basic (better than the state average of 29.4), 34.7% scored basic (better than the state average of 31.4), 31.7% scored proficient (better than the state average of 22.1) and 18.8% scored in the advanced range (better than the state average of 17.1).
In Science the district had 14.2% of students score below basic (better than the state average of 25.1), 46.3% scored basic (better than the state average of 37.3), 31.3% scored proficient (better than the state average of 24.2) and 8.2% scored in the advanced range (below the state average of 13.5).
In Social Studies the district had no score available for the below basic tier (the state average is 5.1), 75% scored basic (better than the state average of 54.8), 22.7% scored proficient (below the state average of 36.8) and no score was available in the advanced range (the state average is 3.3).
The district has a four year graduation rate of 96.2 %, five year rate of 100%, a six year rate of 94.6% and a seven year rate of 98.1%. All above the state average.
The board was presented with hand made cards and posters by the Bloomfield Elementary students for school board month. The board was also served homemade desserts from the staff. The board also viewed a video presentation made by the elementary students. The board then agreed to move the April meeting to April 11 at 6 p.m. due to a scheduling conflict with another school event.
The summer school dates were set at May 22 through June 19. The elementary and middle school students will attend the first three weeks and the high school students all four weeks.
During the executive session the board approved Samantha Ford as a substitute.
Ashley DeWolf was hired as the High School Business Teacher for the 2023-2024 school year. The board then hired the Certified Teaching Staff for the 2023-2024 school year.
The board hired Kyle Keith as the high school principal for the 2023-2024 school year. Keith has a Bachelor of Science in Special Education and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration, both from Southeast Missouri State University. Keith has been the athletic director and ISS teacher for the past 3 years at Bloomfield. Prior to coming to Bloomfield, Keith taught 5 years of special education for the Cape Girardeau Public School District, 4 years at the middle school and 1 year at the high school.