Texas School District Bond Refi to Save $16 Million

A Texas school district has refinanced its outstanding bonds, a move that it expects will save nearly $16 million. According to Waco Independent School District, the bonds' maximum interest rate of 4.28 percent has been cut down to 1.655 percent. That will save $15.84 million over the remaining life of the bonds, which ends in 2038.The bonds total $85.3 million.

"This was a clear opportunity to demonstrate good fiscal stewardship of district and community resources," said Superintendent Susan Kincannon, in a statement. "With RBC Capital Markets' guidance, our business and financial services department has taken advantage of low bond interest rates to save taxpayers money and reduce the district's debt service costs."

As part of the process, the district's Moody bond rating of Aa2 was reaffirmed.

"This is a very strong rating and reflects the district's history of conservative budgeting and management practices," added Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Sheryl Davis. "We are pleased that favorable market conditions provided us the opportunity to refinance these bonds to benefit the district and taxpayers."

The funding, which involved a series of bonds, paid for construction of a high school and three elementary campuses.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • classroom with crystal ball on top of a desk

    Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

    As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • Texas State University Completes Stadium Renovations

    Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, recently announced that it has completed a series of additions and renovations to its football stadium, according to a news release. Formerly known as the Bobcat Stadium End Zone Complex, the Johnny and Nathali Weisman Football Performance Center is an 85,000-square-foot expansion featuring hospitality spaces, banquet spaces, exterior concourses, and upgrades to the field house.

Digital Edition