SCHOOL BOARD PICKS ACCOUNT FOR BOND MONEY INVESTMENT

Construction projects for Cape Girardeau public schools continue to move forward. On Wednesday, the Board of Education awarded a contract for deposit of funds and also picked a firm to do survey work.

As of April 30, the district will have $14 million from the sale of bonds. It won't need all the money at one time, so an investment firm was selected to hold the money until it is needed.

Merrill Lynch offered the highest interest rate, 6.170 percent, and received the contract.

The account is called a full flex repurchase agreement. It works something like an interest-bearing checking account. Dr. Steve DelVecchio, school business manager, explained that the district can withdraw money from the account whenever it wants. Until money is used, the funds are drawing interest and the interest rate is locked in.

The other choice would have been for the school district to invest the money itself. "If we did that we would be subject to the ups and downs of the market," DelVecchio said.

The federal government prohibits the district from making money on the investment. The school can break even. Any interest income earned must be given to the government. The process is called arbitrage.

Richards Land Surveying was selected to do land surveys at the elementary and vocational-technical school sites and the addition at Jefferson School. The agreement calls for all the work to be done within 60 days. Surveys of the property where new schools will be built must be finished within 30 days.

Architects need the surveys in order to complete preliminary drawings for the new buildings.

Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent said some discussions have taken place with architects about what needs to be included in the buildings.

"The architects need the survey of the ground so they can take their initial concepts and see how they fit and where the buildings can best be located on the property," Tallent said.

The superintendent hopes to have preliminary drawings of floor plans and site plans by July. Bids would be accepted over the summer and construction could start in September.