Low interest rates will save taxpayers money
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
There was some good news out of the April 27 meeting of the East Troy School Board. With interest rates as low as they are and that trend expected to continue in the foreseeable future, the taxpayers in the School District are most likely going to save a little money.
District Business Manager Kathy Zwirgzdas told the board at the last week’s meeting that interest rate projections for the referendum bond were less than the anticipated 4.25 percent. With the rates projections coming in much lower, about 3.75 percent according to Zwirgzdas, the district will be saving about $1.6 million in interest charges on the facility needs and new school.
That means the projected 16 cent per $1,000 home value the district estimated to be the impact on taxpayers for the additional cost of adding second grade on to the new school is actually going to be about 7 cents per $1,000. That means about a $10.50 annual tax increase on a $150,000 home instead of the estimated $24 a year, which the district said would be the cost during the referendum process.
Zwirgzdas said it was her nature to “plan for the worst” in things like this and that she was very excited when the actual numbers started coming in.
“I was cheering in my office when I was getting the news,” Zwirgzdas said at the board meeting. “To have 7 cents impact instead of 16 cents impact – it’s good news.”
A representative from Baird told the board last week that the district has a “very good long-term credit rating” that is helping with the lower finance costs.
Because of the low rate, the district is going to try to lock in the majority of the referendum funding within the next 90 days.
“The old plan was to borrow $10 million first and then borrow the remaining $14.7 million later on,” Zwirgzdas said Monday. “But now we’re going to borrow the majority of it right away, $20 million, and then borrow the $4.7 million later to lock in the better interest rates.”
Zwirgzdas said Monday the money saved with the lower interest rates was a direct savings to taxpayers and the district couldn’t use that money on any of the construction projects.
Construction timeline
The School District has set up a tentative timeline for the construction of the new school and renovations. The district’s website, www.easttroy.k12.wi.us, will have frequent updates during the construction process as will the newspaper.
The High School renovations and additions are in the design stage now, which will end in August with the bidding beginning in September. Construction is set to begin in October with completion in August of 2016.
The new elementary school on the Prairie View site will enter the design phase in June, with bidding set for January 2016. Construction will begin in April of 2016 with completion of the new school in June of 2017.
The Middle School renovations are set to be completed by August 2016 and the Doubek Elementary School renovations, which is the final phase, will be done in the summer of 2017.
