Ironwood to consider refinancing bonds

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Ironwood — Ironwood Area Schools may soon be paying less on some of its bonds as the district’s board of education approved a resolution explore refinancing its older bonds Monday.

The measure would be for two of the district’s bond measures — a $1,655,000 measure from 2002 and a $1.4 million measure from 2009 — and is designed to save the district money by getting a lower rate.

Superintendent Travis Powell said the district would only proceed with refinancing the bonds if it was determined the savings would be more than the costs to refinance them.

If the refinancing proves to be a cost-effective decision, Powell told the Globe it could save taxpayers money in the long run. He said the tax rate the district’s taxpayers pay likely wouldn’t go down, however, refinancing would allow the district to pay down its debt faster so the millages can come off the tax rolls sooner.

Although the total savings still needs to be determined, Powell said in the meeting it could be around $50,000.

In other action:

—The board decided to seek bids for the district’s student accident insurance policy.

—The board approved a list of the district’s 2019 graduates.

—The board also approved the personnel report for the month, which included hiring Kaye Ortman Peters as a 7-12 grade English teacher and Joseph Metzger as golf coach, as well as accepting Tess Paakola’s resignation as the business and computer teacher.

—Special Education teacher Vicki Watson was recognized for earning the Michigan Education Association’s Outstanding Person in Education award.