RBUSD Saves Taxpayers $15.5M

Local taxpayers can expect to save an estimated $15.5 million over the next 30 years due to the 's sales of new bonds offered by the federal stimulus program and their refinancing of older bonds.

Of the $15,470,000 worth of savings spread out of 30 years, the bulk of the money will be saved due to the use of Qualified School Construction Bonds spread out over 16 years, according to a news release from RBUSD.

Taxpayers will save an estimated $11.4 million in interest over the 16 years due to the state's approval for the district to use this borrowing method, which according to the release, "resulted in a [zero] percent interest rate on that portion of its new bonds."

"The federal government will pay up to a certain amount of interest on these bonds, and we were able to sell our bonds to the open market for the exact same rate as the government would pay," said Janet Redella, chief business official of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. "So that means we were able to sell $25 million in bonds interest-free for the taxpayers."

The Qualified School Construction Bonds can be used for repairs, renovations and new equipment. The bonds also allow the district to borrow money interest-free to improve schools.

Savings of an estimated $2.3 million will come to taxpayers over the next 30 years thanks to the district's sales of Build America Bonds, another way the district took advantage of the federal stimulus.

These bonds, which are issued by local governments, are also meant to borrowing costs.

Lastly, the district's refinancing of its Measure E bonds from the 2000 election will save a remaining $1.79 million in interest. The refinanced bonds will be repaid over the next 20 years.

Measure E was a $52 million school improvement bond passed in 2000 that allowed the district to refurnish and modernize nearly all the classrooms in the district, according to the RBUSD's website.

"We found that we could refinance those bonds for a lower interest rate because the market was better for that today than it was five years ago," Redella said.

The savings from the Qualified School Construction Bonds, the Build America Bonds and the refinanced Measure E bonds total about $15.5 million.

"The taxpayers would have had to pay that much more over the next 20 to 30 years," Redella said, "so it's quite a chunk of change [we save] by being able to take advantage of those financing options and ... the federal stimulus bonds."