Much Lower Interest Rate On Manchester Schools' Bonds Means $600K Savings

When Manchester Township’s schools undergo repairs and upgrades during the summer of 2015, it will cost taxpayers less than originally anticipated.

That’s because the district got a very pleasant surprise when it opened the bids recently for the bonds on the project: low interest rates.

The district accepted a bid of 2.78 percent for the bonds, which should be issued within the next few weeks, school district Business Administrator Craig Lorentzen said.

“It was much less than we anticipated,” Lorentzen said. The lower interest rate will save $600,000 over the 15-year term of the bonds, he said.

Township voters in September approved a $15.5 million referendum for the work, which includes upgrading and replacing the heating, ventiliation and air conditioning system’s at the district’s five schools, adding security improvements, and replacing roofs, which are out of warranty.

The school district will bond for $9.3 million to pay for the work, while a state grant will pay for the remaining $6.2 million. The approval for the bonding was critical to gaining the state grant, officials said at the time.

Lorentzen’s original projections were that it would add about $19 to the property tax bill of the average home of $158,000. With the lower interest rate, the tax impact should be just over $11 for an average home in the township, he said.

The scope of the upgrades and repairs was “90 percent finalized” before the Christmas holiday break began, and Lorentzen said the district is on target to go out to bid in February. That means the majority of the work should be able to be completed over the summer, and the entirety of it completely by early fall, he said.

Once completed, school officials project that energy savings from the various upgrades and repairs will save the district more than $5 million over the life of the bonds.

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