Lower interest rates mean $44 million savings in District 207, officials say
Lower than expected interest rates should translate into a $44.2 million savings for taxpayers when Maine Township High School District 207 sells $195 million in bonds to fund school upgrades, district officials announced Tuesday.
District voters approved the bond sale in November, part of a $240 million plan to improve infrastructure at Maine East, West and South high schools, enhance safety and security at all three buildings and update their aging classrooms to create more flexible learning spaces.
The plan also includes construction of a new field house at Maine West in Des Plaines. Work is expected to begin in the spring.
When planning the bond sale last year, district leaders expected to pay a 4.54% interest rate. Instead, they now expect to sell bonds with a 2.97% borrowing rate, reducing the district's debt service cost from more than $300 million to approximately $256 million. The district's board approved the plan Tuesday night.
"Interest rates for bonds are at historic lows, and we want to take advantage of that to reduce the amount of taxes paid by the District
207 community," Assistant Superintendent for Business Mary Kalou said. "While very few school districts are Aaa bond rated, it is our
expectation the district will maintain its current Aaa bond rating when Moody's conducts its review of the district's finances."
The district anticipates selling a portion of the bonds through the Illinois Finance Authority, which will allow the bonds to be exempt from both federal and Illinois taxes.
The district's plan is to sell $130 million in bonds in the coming months and $65 million more in 2022. Taxpayers will see the impact
of the bond sales in the fall of 2020, as part of the second installment of the 2019 property tax bill.
Initial district estimates from the fall projected that the owner of a $245,000 home in Des Plaines, the median value in the city, would pay $223 more annually during the 20 years that the bonds are repaid. A Park Ridge resident with a median home value of $384,000 would pay an extra $350, according to those estimates.
Community members can stay up to date with the latest construction information at https://maine207.org/construction/.