Rowland USD General Obligation Bond refinancing will save
taxpayers more than $2.7 million
ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA — SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 — The Rowland Unified School District completed the sale of $29,515,000 in refunding bonds this week, at an all-inclusive interest rate of 3.93% (including financing costs) without extending the final payment date of the original bonds. The District was able to capitalize on low interest rates and market conditions to refinance most of the outstanding Election of 2000, Series B bonds to save taxpayers $2,721,044. This is equivalent to 6.88% of the original debt service on the bonds. Only Current Interest Bonds were sold, no Capital Appreciation Bonds (CABs).
“The District continues to be diligent as a steward of taxpayer dollars, as we are committed to providing quality education to the students in our communities,” Rowland Unified Superintendent Ruben Frutos commented. “In light of significant funding shortages by the state, our District is able to take advantage of historic low interest rates and save taxpayers a significant amount of money.”
Voter-approved bond measures in Rowland Unified have funded modernization, safety improvements and new construction projects at schools throughout the District, which serves residents of Rowland Heights, West Covina, Walnut, La Puente, and the City of Industry. The District’s facilities improvements will continue with the construction of new classroom buildings at Rowland High School, Nogales High School and Stanley G. Oswalt Academy.
The bonds were assigned strong ratings of Aa2 / AA- by national rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s respectively. The ratings reflect the District’s stable tax base, healthy reserve levels and a history of prudent fiscal management. Investors responded favorably to the District, based on the ratings as well as the District’s performance in previous bond financings.
The District continuously monitors its outstanding bond debt to identify refinancing opportunities to save money for local taxpayers. The next series of bonds eligible to be refinanced is the Election of 2006, Series A, which should generate attractive taxpayer savings in approximately two years.