The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) has approved slightly more than $16.6 million in State Trust Fund Loans to support 14 community projects in Wisconsin, including $300,000 to the Siren School District for their roofing project.
Siren School Superintendent, Kevin Shetler, stated to DrydenWire.com this morning that "In an effort to be proactive and fiscally responsible, the Siren School District Board of Education is making efforts to finance repairs needed to the roof of the school building. Currently, the district does not have the budgeted funds available to pay for the entire project. Therefore, financing is an option we have explored.
"With some of the savings from the previous budget year, we may be able to finance a portion of the entire project and pay for a portion out of our budget. On the other hand, the Board of Education has the option to complete the entire project at a low interest rate."
Shetler continues to say that there are several portions of the roof that have exceeded the warranty limits.
No decision has been made at this time as to what the future will hold for the roofing project and no construction time frame has been determined.
However, Shetler says that securing the State Trust Fund Loan provides the school district with potential options.
When asked if it be fair to say that the Siren School District and BOE is still weighing their options at this point, Shetler said it was: "We have four months to draw the funds and this will be a topic of discussion in future meetings to determine course of action."
The BCPL operates entirely on program revenue, without taxpayer money, and distributes more than 96 cents of every dollar of interest earned on BCPL State Trust Fund investments to Wisconsin’s public schools. The 2016 earnings of $37.7 million are the largest distribution in the agency’s history and provide the sole source of state funding for K-12 public school library materials.
A list of 2016 library aid received by each public school district is available at: (http://bcpl.wisconsin.gov/docview.asp?docid=27361&locid=145).
Last Update: Nov 17, 2016 9:14 am CST