At its December meeting, the Lincoln County R-3 school board finalized a bond refinancing that’s expected to save the school district more than $1 million in interest payments.

School Superintendent Matt Frederickson expressed enthusiasm and support for the refunding option selected by the Board of Education.

“This plan achieves significant savings and allows the District to capture better conditions in the municipal bond market for the benefit of our taxpayers,” Frederickson said.

While saving $1,075,207 with this refinancing, the District has now saved $22.5 million through similar actions since 1997.

Fredrickson cited those savings as a precursor to another bond issue for further school construction projects, specifically at the high school level.

“The cumulative savings throughout the years have placed the District in an excellent position to ask voters for another bond issue without increasing the current debt service tax levy,” he said. “This would allow the District to address expansion needs in our 9-12 grade facilities.”

Neil Branham, Senior Vice President of L.J. Hart & Company, prepared the refunding proposal and explained how it can fit into the district’s longrange plans.

Branham mentioned the three significant factors making the Series 2024 refunding attractive were the recently improved interest rates, the fact that the Series 2020 Bonds are subject to prepayment at no penalty on March 1, 2025, and the District’s ability to participate in the State of Missouri’s Direct Deposit Program.

Participation in the Direct Deposit program makes it possible for the District to receive a “AA+” rating from S&P Global on the refunding bonds.

The Series 2024 Refunding Bonds were made available to local financial institutions.

People’s Bank and Trust, Community State Bank, Bank of Old Monroe, and HNB National Bank collectively purchased $5,950,000 of the Bonds, which was very helpful to the success of the financing.

The closing for the Series 2024 Refunding Bond issue occurred on Dec. 19.

“We are grateful for ongoing support from our community bank partners and glad to be able to save $1,075,207 of our taxpayers’ money by taking advantage of the recently improved bond market conditions,” stated Ron Mills, President of the Board of Education.