School approve QZAB resolution

The members of the Alleghany County Board of Education approved a resolution regarding the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) funds during an April 28 called meeting.

The board's action will permit Superintendent Jeff Cox to sign off on contractual documents related to the $2 million loan. The loan—made available through the New Mexico Bank and Trust, which offered the loan interest-free—was scheduled to be closed yesterday.

In March 2007, the school system began seeking QZAB grant monies as a means to fund what they deemed to be needed renovations at the four county schools. On May 29, 2007, the school submitted an application for the grant funds and were approved in July 2007. But like other counties that were also allocated QZAB funds, finding a bank willing to loan the monies proved to be difficult.

Prior to finding a bank that would provide the grant funds at a zero percent interest rate, which was the original nature of the loan, the Alleghany County Commission informed the school board of other options, including a bank in Chicago that offered the loan at 1.5 percent interest rate and another bank which offered a 1 percent flat interest rate. In earlier stages of discussion, the Commission had opted to support an interest-free loan for the $2 million, which worked out to be an annual $146,000 allocation over a 14-year period. During the April 28 discussion, Cox explained that he took part in a conference call on April 18 during which he, County Manager Don Adams, County Attorney Donna Shumate, School Board Attorney Fred Johnson and others, tried "to get our ducks in a row and determine what exactly needs to transpire to get this loan closed Wednesday. Knowing that that was coming, I went ahead and scheduled this meeting for today. I will go down Wednesday to Don's office where we'll have the bond attorney and other parties there to actually do the closing."

In addiiton to the typical documents one signs at a loan closing, two other documents will be signed, a lease agreement, and an agency agreement.

Through a lease agreement, the title to a portion of Alleghany High School, about three acres, which includes the main building and part of the parking lot, will become property of the county.

"They'll hold that portion as collateral for this loan," stated Cox.

Explaining the concept of an agency agreement, Cox said, "Essentially, that is saying that the county is taking out this loan, but they're assigning all of the responsibility to everything essentially, to the board of education and the school system.

 

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