In March, the Susanville School District successfully completed the refunding, or refinancing, of $4.24 million of its outstanding Measure “S” bonds, which were approved by 66.5% of voters in 2008.
“Similar to replacing a 30-year home mortgage with a 15-year mortgage after a number of years,” explains District Superintendent Jason Waddell, “refunding school district General Obligation bonds generally reduces tax rates by replacing existing 25-year bonds with new, lower interest rate, shorter term bonds. This refunding will save local taxpayers more than $1.2 million in total through 2033.”
“Given the wonderful relationship we have with the greater Susanville community and the challenging economic times that may lay ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic, of course we’ll do everything we can to be good stewards of local taxpayers’ investment,” said Board President, James Hall.
“The moment we saw the opportunity to reduce tax bills, we acted immediately to decrease the cost of Measure ‘S’ – and our Administration and the entire team did a great job getting it done, particularly at the moment we did.”
According to Waddell, prior to the process of issuing the refunding bonds, Standard & Poor’s also upgraded the District’s “A+” credit rating to “AA-”. This exceptionally strong rating for a rural California school district recognizes the District’s strong local economy, consistent financial operations with strong reserves and low debt burdens.
The “AA-” rating also allowed the District to successfully conduct the sale of the 2020 GO Refunding Bonds at a time of exceptionally favorable market conditions, immediately prior to considerable volatility and interest rate increases due to COVID-19.
“Our timing for this refunding could not have been better,” said Waddell. “The Board and I are incredibly excited to save local taxpayers this much money, especially when it may matter the most – and of course we’ll continue to do everything we can to make our community that much better, whatever new challenges we all may face.”
