Waterford district refinances bonds to save $1.57M

The Waterford School District has reported that it refinanced its 1999 Series II and Series III bonds on Tuesday, March 15 for a total of $23.4 million.

The bonds were sold to Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. at an interest rate of 2.912 percent, and will save the district $1.57 million in interest through 2017.

Bill Holbrook, the school district’s director of finance and budget, said the initial bond issue as approved by voters in 1999, but the bonds weren’t issued until 2001.

At the time, the bonds totaled $30 million. Holbrook said there is currently a $23 million balance.

He added that the bond sale proceeds went toward capital improvement projects in the district, including building improvements and classroom renovations.

In March 2009, the district approved the refinancing of 1999 Series 1 bonds in an amount not to exceed $7.6 million.

The original bond issue was approved by district voters on March 30, 1999 and sold on June 1, 1999 to pay for capital projects including classroom additions at district schools. The bonds were issued at $15 million.

Holbrook previously said the district was looking to save as much as 2 percentage points on the Series I bonds and that their interest rates were as high as 4.75 percent, and with refinancing they would be as low as 2.75 percent, saving the district over $200,000.