Elementary bond issue refinanced

The Bigfork School board last week approved a resolution to save taxpayers about $160,000.

The board has decided to contract with D.A. Davidson to help refinance the remainder of the existing Bigfork Elementary School bond.

In October of 2007 the school district passed a bond for $5.5 million to renovate the elementary and middle school building.

There is still $3.4 million outstanding on that bond, which ends in 2023. The district will approach local banks about purchasing the remainder of the bond and locking it in at the lower interest rate.

While interest rates were fairly good when the bond was issued in 2008, Aaron Rudio with D.A. Davidson said they are even better now.

Though refinancing the remainder of the bond will save about $160,000, Rudio said the impact to individual taxpayers wouldn’t be huge. Bigfork School District Business manager Lacey Porrovecchio said people likely wouldn’t notice the change on their tax bills.

“It’s still I think a good thing to do. It will save pennies,” she said.

The amount each person has had on their tax bill for the elementary bond has changed each year as the number of taxable properties inside the Bigfork Elementary School District has changed.

Rudio said the refinancing could be completed in September.

The district decided to move forward with refinancing the elementary bond while also pushing to run a new high school bond request.

Ballots asking voters to approve a $14 million bond to renovate Bigfork High School will go out Sept. 18 and are due back Oct. 9.

Bond sales enable schools to get a large amount of funding to complete a big project. Taxpayers then repay the amount of bonds that were sold over the next 20 years.

The funds for the bond can only be used for the specific project presented to voters and nothing else. For example, if the $14 million bond is passed, the $14 million can be used only for the specified renovations put forth by the school board. In the event the project were to come in under budget, the full amount of bonds would not be sold, lowering the amount to be paid back by taxpayers.

Unlike a tax levy, after bonds are paid off in 20 years, taxpayers no longer have to bear that burden for the school. Levies stay on the tax rolls until voted to be removed.

Some levies are for a certain number of years and some are permanent tax increases. Levies are for smaller projects, or for maintenance and operations in the general fund. Levies that help pay for something in the general fund, such as additional staffing, are permanent. Levies that are for a small project, like improved technology, can be for a fixed time.

The Bigfork School District has not asked for a maintenance and operations levy since 2007, when voters approved an additional $85,000. The school district also requested a bond for $11 million in 2007 to renovate the high school, but the vote failed. The high school building was last renovated in the 1960s.