Kyrene Elementary School District will be issuing its first bond sale from the $161M bond approved by voters in the November 2023 election.

 

The Kyrene Governing Board voted at its February 25 meeting to approve the sale, which will provide the district with approximately $43M to cover capital projects for the next three years, including:

 

• Safety and security upgrades
• Replacement of aging school buses
• Maintenance of playgrounds, fields, parking lots and other facilities
• Technological improvements, ranging from computers to fire alarm systems
• Building maintenance, such as roofing and HVAC system repairs or replacements

 

For these types of projects, only a fraction of Kyrene’s costs are covered by state funding. School needs far exceed the available funding, so the district relies heavily on voter-approved bonds and overrides to provide safe, healthy learning environments.

 

Kyrene would not be able to keep facilities in the condition they are in today without voter support.

 

The Governing Board also voted to refinance approximately $40M of outstanding bonds in order to save  taxpayers roughly $2M. Kyrene takes fiscal responsibility and public trust seriously, and the district is always seeking opportunities to save taxpayers money.

 

The funds will be used to refinance old bonds at a better interest rate, which will mean lower tax rates in the future for the Kyrene community.

 

“Kyrene spends a lot of time in this area, and our goal is to always lower tax rates over time whenever we can,” said Chris Herrmann, Kyrene Chief Financial Officer and Associate Superintendent. “It’s a huge point of pride that we can look back at the last five years and see those rates consistently dropping due to our efforts.”

 

100% of the savings and benefit of refinancing goes to taxpayers in the form of lower rates, and through bond refinancing, Kyrene has saved taxpayers almost $8M over the course of a decade.

 

“This is one more example of Kyrene’s commitment to fiscal responsibility,” said Kyrene Superintendent Laura Toenjes. “The district and the Governing Board will seek every opportunity to manage the bond efficiently. Taxpayers place their trust in us when they support our bonds, and we want our community to see the value of their vote.”

 

Kyrene allocates the vast majority of bond dollars to schools. On average, 96% of bond funds directly support students and maintain schools, while a very small percentage is used to maintain office facilities and other work environments. •••