Bond Refunds Saved Taxpayers $2.79M, District Says

Over the past three years, the Redondo Beach Unified School District has saved taxpayers approximately $2.79 million from the refunding of general obligation bonds, Chief Business Official Janet Redella announced this week.

According to Redella, since 2010, the school district has been able to refinance old bonds at high interest rates and replace them with new bonds at lower interest rates. Those lower interest rates will end up saving taxpayers over the course of the next 21 years.

Most recently, the school board approved the March 7 sale of bonds that carried a 4.23 percent interest rate and replaced them with new bonds carrying an average rate of 3.47 percent. That action by the school board saved taxpayers an estimated $370,000, Redella said.

"As stewards of taxpayers' dollars, anytime you can save money through refinancing outstanding bonds, we feel it is the right thing to do," Redella said in a release. "We wanted to take advantage of the low interest rate environment that we are in, and we did."

The practice of refinancing bonds began in the school district in 2010 and is projected to save property owners more money in the coming years, Redella said. It is a move supported by school board president Anita Avrick.

"We had the opportunity to save local taxpayers money and thought we should do it, especially in this economy," Avrick said.