St. Tammany Parish school officials are considering up to $26 million in refinancing bonds aimed at reducing the cost of repaying existing school debt.
The proposal appears on the School Board’s November 5 Finance and Administrative meeting agenda. Its attached draft resolution is prepared for November 12. Neither the agenda nor the unsigned resolution establishes that the plan has been approved.
The district would use the bonds to refinance all or part of two bond series issued in 2017 and cover the costs of the transaction. Those original series were issued for $25 million each. The proposed $26 million limit is not a statement of how much of that debt remains outstanding.
The draft describes the purpose as debt service savings for the school district and parish property taxpayers. It does not provide an estimated dollar amount of savings or a projected change in an individual property owner’s tax bill.
Under the proposed terms, interest could not exceed 4 percent annually, and the new debt would mature no later than March 1, 2037. The resolution identifies property taxes already being levied as the repayment source.
School Board action and State Bond Commission approval would be required. The draft also makes a sale contingent on savings after transaction costs that exceed the commission’s minimum present value savings guidelines. Final interest rates would be set through a later board resolution when the bonds are sold.
The documents describe refinancing existing obligations, rather than financing a new school construction project. The amount ultimately issued, financing costs and resulting savings remain unresolved.
