Dieringer bonds to help fund a new high school

Published 1:46 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Dieringer School District sold new school bonds and refunded two existing bonds last week at a savings of nearly $700,000 for area taxpayers.

The bonds were approved by voters to help fund Dieringer's portion of the cost of a new Auburn high school. The new bond issue was passed for $4.9 million.

The cost of bond debt repayment had been estimated at $3.17 per $1,000 of assessed property value. However, the favorable sale and refund will result in a lower rate of $2.96 in 2005.

Superintendent Judy Neumeier-Martinson said the 1994 bond, for $1.35

million, was financed at rates of 5.5 to 5.7 percent. The 1997 bond, for $9.3 million, was financed at a rate of 5.2 to 5.65 percent.

The district was able to refund the existing bonds and sell the new bond for 2 to 3.6 percent due to current low market rates. The new bonds were sold at higher than fair value, meaning the authorized $4.9 million bond issue recently passed by area voters only required $4.8 million.