Colby schools to invest referendum funds locally

By Nathaniel Underwood

Options for the investment of some of the Colby School District’s referendum funds were discussed at Monday’s school board meeting as were a number of different facilities updates, including the potential addition of a ramp for youth and handicap access to the high school pool.

As part of the long-term financing of the referendum funds, the district is looking to place some of the money into interest-earning investments.

PMA Securities worked with the district and a number of financial institutions to find various options for the board to consider, with a few local financial institutions included at the request of the board. PMA’s suggestions included investments in PMA Network FDIC CDs, U.S. Treasury securities and the Wisconsin Local Government Investment Pool.

However, the board wished to support local financial institutions if possible and, after some discussion, ultimately decided to move forward with an initial investment of $2 million at Nicolet National Bank.

It was estimated by PMA that this would yield around $7,500 less in interest earned over the time of investment compared to the other recommended investments.

Options were also examined at Forward Bank, but PMA recommended the district not deposit any of their funds with the institution at this time, saying that yield margins between investments at Forward Bank and the U.S Treasury bonds would be larger than those margins between Nicolet and the U.S. Treasury bonds. It was also noted at the meeting that the timing of the schedules for the best investments at Forward Bank would not match as well with the district’s planned project schedules at this time.

The board was additionally informed that both Nicolet National Bank and Forward Bank would be considered as options when looking at future investments when the district receives its next series of funds in March.

Options for increased accessibility to the high school pool were also discussed at Monday evening’s meeting. Two primary choices were presented to the board, with either a ramp that could be pulled in and out of the pool or a chair on the side of the pool. The ramp option was recommended by administration and staff who utilize the pool. They said the ramp would be easier to use for both younger kids and older adults and it would not require any adjustments to be made to the deck around the pool, unlike the chair option.

A rough estimate from a company called Reliable Ramps out of Chicago suggested that the ramp could cost around $23,000. However, that quote was given for a ramp that would remain in the pool at all times, rather than one that could be taken in and out of the pool.

While the board’s facilities committee believed that this would be a good addition, both for increased accessibility for the community and safety purposes, board members felt the potential cost was a bit high. It was also noted that the pool will need handicap accessibility one way or another, either via ramp or by a chair, so it would likely just be a matter of moving the problem down the road if the board decided to not go forward now.

Board members briefly discussed whether a ramp could be constructed by local entities for less cost, but the potential for liability if the ramp were not up to code waylaid the suggestion.

In the end, the board decided that it would like to pursue the ramp option and see how much an actual quote would be for the ramp the district needs.