PRESCOTT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1
146 South Granite Street
Prescott, Arizona 86303
September 13, 2004
Minutes of the Governing
Board Special Session of Monday, September 13, 2004, beginning at 12:00 p.m.
held in the District Office Board Room.
Governing Board Members
Present:
President Dee Navarro
Dr. Joan Fleming
Steve Campbell
Mr. Kevin Kapp,
Superintendent
Dr. Chris Reynolds,
Assistant Superintendent
Mrs. Renee Raskin,
Business Manager
Mrs. Andi Mayer, Assistant
to the Governing Board
Others Present:
Tom
Staley Bob Morris Kurt Womack
Tim
Carter Keith Hoskins
CALL TO ORDER
President Dee Navarro
called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.
OPENING CEREMONY AND
WELCOME
President Navarro led
those present in the Pledge of Allegiance and thanked fellow Board members
for attending the special session.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
President Navarro asked
Mr. Kapp if the agenda was in order. Mr. Kapp replied that the agenda was
in order.
Dr. Joan Fleming moved
that the Governing Board approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Steve
Campbell seconded the motion.
Dr. Joan Fleming voted
aye, Mr. Steve Campbell voted aye, and President Navarro voted aye. The
motion carried 3-0.
SPECIAL SESSION – Study
and Voting:
CONSIDER AND, IF
ADVISABLE, ADOPT A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE BALLOT TO BE PRESENTED TO THE
QUALIFIED ELECTORS AT THE SPECIAL BOND ELECTION TO BE HELD IN AND FOR THE
DISTRICT ON NOVEMBER 2, 2004
Mr. Steve Campbell moved
that the Governing Board adopt a resolution amending the ballot to be
presented to the qualified electors at the special bond election to be
held in and for the District on November 2, 2004. Dr. Joan Fleming
seconded the motion.
Mr. Kapp noted that Mr.
Tom Staley and Mr. Bob Morris were present representing the Bond Election
Committee. He noted that he had checked with the district’s attorney and
had found that it is legal for a Board to amend a ballot that was
previously approved. He noted that the committee was concerned with three
areas: the interest rate, the length of the bond and the sentence
regarding “liquidating indebtedness.”
Mr. Tom Staley addressed
the Governing Board and stated that he was representing the Advisory Bond
Committee and Citizens for School Improvement. He noted that they were
concerned with the wording on the official ballot that had been written by
Scott Ruby. He reported that the committee wanted a 10 year bond because
it would save tax payers millions of dollars. He discussed current
interest rates and projected interest rates and stated that he did not
anticipate that they would exceed 12%. He advised that the information
brochure should read 8%. He noted that the committee proposed the
following changes:
-
That in the heading the
words “special bond election” be changed to “school bond election.”
-
Change the interest rate
in the ballot from “not to exceed twelve percent (12%)” to “not to
exceed eight percent (8%).”
-
Change the maximum
number of years over which the bonds may mature from twenty (20) years
to ten (10) years.
-
Delete the bullet point
which reads, “Liquidating indebtedness incurred for the purposes set
forth above.”
-
Deleting the last
sentence of paragraph three regarding Students FIRST, and if it cannot
be deleted, add a qualifying sentence that reads, “however, PUSD has not
received full funding from Students FIRST monies.”
He stated that they did
not want anything to get in the way of the bond.
Mr. Gordon Maddux thanked
Mr. Staley for picking this up and noted that Yavapai College has been
having problems that have put us all in a difficult light. He noted that
he really supported the points that Mr. Staley had made.
Mr. Kurt Womack addressed
the Governing Board and stated that he had some questions for the Board.
He noted that almost six weeks after the board approved the voter
pamphlet, and after Superintendent Kapp said, “. . . that the bonding
company wants to publish the pamphlets in mid-August,” the interest rate
is still in flux. He presented the following questions:
-
Were pamphlets already
printed? What does it say regarding figures?
-
Yavapai County
Treasurer, Estimated Debt Service shows 5.50% for ’05 bond issue and
5.75% for ’06 issue, no points added, over 10-years with a
total amount of $25.53 million. How will 8% show taxpayers saving
millions in interest? Show us the new total amount.
-
Four newspaper articles
state only 10-years, what lawyer came up with 20 years? Name of lawyer
and who is represented?
-
When will the voters
receive the new and improved pamphlet? Early voting begins 2 ½ weeks
from now.
He also stated that he
wanted to address the bus issue, that the bond was asking for 27 buses,
the fleet currently has 29, and that the wording on the ballot should be
changed because “Purchasing pupil transportation vehicles” doesn’t even
mention buses or how many. He stated that he felt it should just read
“replace the whole bus fleet.” He stated that the age of the buses is
irrelevant, but that mileage was a factor. He noted that he had written
Students First and asked them what their requirements were for replacing
school buses and they had responded 400,000 miles. He stated that the
maximum mileage on our bus fleet was 165,000 miles. He asked which buses
were going to be kept and what the total number would be in the fleet when
all is said and done. He distributed a printout from Yavapai County
regarding interest accrual.
Mr. Keith Hoskins,
attorney from Gust Rosenfeld in Phoenix, noted that the ballot language
regarding 12% and 20 years was standard language, and that there would be
no objection to changing that wording, as long as the district understood
what that means. He noted that the wording regarding “liquidating” could
be deleted.
He stated that he was
concerned with the timing and that the district was running out of time
and that these changes have delayed the printing of the ballot and that
they were in a hurry to get it resolved and printed.
Regarding the other
suggested changes, the word school could probably replace the word special
in the heading, but that no changes could be made to the third paragraph,
because they are required by statute. He stated that he was not sure
about adding a qualifying sentence after the third paragraph, and would
have to check on that.
Mr. Steve Campbell stated
that he didn’t think the Board should fiddle around with the wording of
the official ballot as much as the information in the informational
brochure. He stated that he had no problem changing the heading.
President Navarro read the
resolution to the Governing Board.
Mr. Steve Campbell moved
that the Governing Board adopt the resolution amending the ballot to be
presented to the qualified electors at the special bond election to be
held in and for the District on November 2, 2004, pending legislative
council approval.
There was no second on
this motion.
Mr. Steve Campbell amended
his original motion to read, that the Governing Board adopt the resolution
amending the ballot to be presented to the qualified electors at the
special bond election to be held in and for the District on November 2,
2004, and that in the heading, “Special Bond Election” be changed to
“School Bond Election” pending legislative council approval. Mr. Gordon
Maddux seconded the motion.
President Navarro called
for the vote on the amendment.
Mr. Gordon
Maddux voted aye, Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mr. Steve Campbell voted
aye, and President Navarro voted aye. The motion carried 4-0.
President Navarro called
for the vote on the amended motion.
Mr. Gordon
Maddux voted aye, Dr. Joan Fleming voted aye, Mr. Steve Campbell voted
aye, and President Navarro voted aye. The motion carried 4-0.
Mr. Kapp noted that
regarding some of Mr. Womack’s questions, the ballots had not yet been
printed and that if bonds were issued today, the interest rate would be 3
¼%.
Dr. Fleming asked how the
district could answer Mr. Womack’s questions.
Mr. Kapp noted that the
administration could research and respond back publicly, but that the
earliest that could happen would be October, since it is not on the agenda
for tomorrow night’s meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Hearing no objection,
President Dee Navarro adjourned the meeting at 12:32 p.m.
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