School District hits new low; taxpayers get high five

• River Falls School District

River Falls School District

Talk about it

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It took only one extra try for the River Falls School District to receive and accept a favorable bid on general obligation bonds to finance $7.6 million in borrowing from the November 2011 referendum.

“I don’t see how it could have turned out any better,” said district finance director Chad Smurawa.

The school board voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to accept a low borrowing bid from UMB Bank of Kansas City. The loan’s interest rate is only 1.7%.

In September the school board rejected four bids for the $7.6 million in borrowing. The low bidder then offered a 2.72% interest rate.

The general obligation bond package was resubmitted this month. This time six bids came in. The highest was for a 1.88% interest rate.

The district’s 2011 referendum totaled just over $19-million. Another $12 million-plus in bonds was sold earlier this year at a 2.55% interest rate.

That bond sale and the one from last week came in far below what interest rates were when one of the referendum’s three questions passed more than a year ago.

Lower borrowing rates are a boon for school district taxpayers.

For instance, a $200,000 home was expected to see a $60 yearly jump in school taxes from the referendum. Instead, that increase will now only be $12.

For a $300,000 home, a projected $90 annual school tax increase drops to $18.

For more on this story, check the Nov. 29 print edition of the River Falls Journal.

Tags: education, k12, wisconsin, news, money