Mt. SAC refinancing saves taxpayers $14 million
February 03, 2020 - 04:12 PM
The Mt. San Antonio Community College District announced it has refinanced $90.84
million in bonds, a move that will lower property taxes and save the community nearly
$14 million in future debt payments.
“We appreciate the support of the voters, and it is a high priority for us to save them money whenever possible,” said Dr. William T. Scroggins, president and CEO of Mt. SAC. “We continually assess the market and protect the taxpayers’ investment in their local community college. The savings do not get reinvested into the college, they are returned to the community through lower property taxes.”
The college district’s agent for the refinance, RBC Capital Markets, issued a report
on how the nearly $14 million was saved, “Bond market conditions on the day of sale
were stable and favorable. The district’s bonds were in high demand due in part to
the district’s high quality credit rating of Aa1 from Moody’s and AA from Standard
& Poor’s. The district’s bond offering garnered orders in excess of the amount of
bonds offered. Robust investor demand, coupled with excellent bond ratings, enabled
the district to lock-in a final interest rate of 2.70% for the life of the new bonds.”
Prior to the new refinancing bond initiative, the local community was paying an average
interest rate of 5.27% on the debt. A total of 41 investors actively sought participation
in the district’s bond sale.
According to the RBC Capital Markets report, “This strong interest makes the existing bonds held by investors more valuable, which will help when the district returns to the market to sell additional Measure RR as well as Measure GO bond issues.”
The transaction was completed today.
To learn more about Measure GO, visit www.mtsac.edu/measurego (archived website).
