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

  • Washington State University Debuts New Engineering Hall

    Washington State University recently celebrated a dedication ceremony for the new Schweitzer Engineering Hall on its Pullman campus in Pullman, Wash., according to university news. The facility measures 66,288 square feet, and its completion marks the first milestone in a larger university effort to modernize the engineering and design district.

  • Wenger Names New Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts, Controls

    Wenger Corporation, which provides products and solutions for music and theater education, performing arts and athletic storage, recently announced the hiring of a new Vice President of Sales for Performing Arts and Controls.

  • Lawrence Group Announces Three New Hires

    Integrated planning and design firm Lawrence Group, based in St. Louis, Mo., recently welcomed three new staff members, according to a news release.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.