“When you refund bonds, the savings go directly to the taxpayers and not to the school district,” said Middletown Schools Treasurer Randy Bertram.
“We were needing to increase the millage collected from the current 9.0 mills to 9.5 mills next year, but because of this refunding we no longer need to do this. This will save a $100,000 homeowner $17.50 per year.
“It’s always exciting and fun to be able to find savings for our taxpayers to whom we appreciate for their good graces in supporting our district and most importantly, our students.”
Middletown Schools enroll more than 6,300 students and has an annual operating budget of $78.8 million.
The bonds involved in the transaction were originally sold by the district in 2014.
In a statement from school officials, they said “the district decided to proceed with this refunding for the benefit of the taxpayers as an effort to build trust by demonstrating financial discipline.”
“This is a continuous effort to gain the support necessary to obtain the resources to continue to provide an excellent education for the students,” said officials.
Bertram said he advised the Middletown Board of Education earlier this month that the “long-term municipal bond rates had fallen to nearly historical lows and that this would be an excellent time to consider such action.”
In May, the school board approved a $10 million expansion of Rosa Parks Elementary designed in large part to address overcrowding in the city schools.
The current Rosa Parks Elementary will look radically different once renovation and expansion work is done by August 2021, Middletown school officials said.
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