The Saint Louis Board of Education voted Nov. 10 to authorize staff to sign an engagement letter with Stifel to monitor and, if favorable, pursue refinancing of the district's 2017 bond series.

Lorenzo Boyd, managing director of investment banking at Stifel, told the board the 2017 bonds have a call date of April 1, 2026, and that, if market rates permit a refunding, the district could achieve interest savings. Boyd said the 2017 series originally totaled $61.9 million with about $22.6 million still outstanding and that refunding would be legally permitted beginning Jan. 1, 2026 (90 days prior to the call date). "If rates are favorable in January, we will go through with the refinancing of that to save the school district funds," Boyd said.

Board members pressed for plain-language explanations of how bonds work, whether refinancing would require voter approval and what the dollars could be used for. Boyd and interim Superintendent Dr. Berry said general-obligation bond proceeds can be used only for capital improvements (schools, renovations and similar projects) and not for teacher salaries or routine operations. Boyd noted the district's current debt capacity under Missouri law: school districts may issue up to 15% of assessed valuation for GO debt and the district's most recent assessed valuation left substantial theoretical capacity.

The board moved, seconded and approved the recommendation to proceed with an engagement letter to monitor the 2017 bonds. The roll-call vote recorded support from board members present; no "no" votes were recorded. Boyd said Stifel would assemble a financing team and return to the board if market conditions allowed formal refunding steps.

The board also heard a concise summary of the district's other outstanding bond series, the Prop S tranches approved by voters in 2022, and an explanation that some older federal-subsidized bond issues are non-callable because of their subsidy structure. Boyd said the district currently holds an underlying rating of double-A minus, in the top quartile of Missouri districts that receive a Standing & Poor's-type rating.