Dunlap superintendent reports construction progress; bond refinancing shows roughly $650,000 aggregate savings

At the Dunlap CUSD 323 Board meeting, the superintendent provided a construction update and an overview of recent bond refinancing activity.

The superintendent said the district’s new training center has its steel erected but will not be enclosed by the start of the new year as originally planned; work continues despite cold weather. He noted that the first set of construction bids came in lower than budgeted — budgeted at about $2.5 million with an initial bid around $2.0 million — and that some scope items (including a perimeter road at the back of the building) were value‑engineered out to reduce cost.

During public participation the superintendent (identified in the transcript as Dr. Jeremy) and district finance staff summarized a refinancing that was modeled with Bernardi Securities and reported to yield roughly $650,000 in net savings in aggregate cash flow. Board members asked for clearer documentation of the higher principal‑and‑interest profile in some years and for an explanation of the capitalized interest and escrow mechanics included in the transaction.

Mr. McKenzie (who worked on the refinancing analysis) described how the new issue includes an escrow component to pay interest on the old bonds, which increases the new bond par amount in the short term; staff said the full cash‑flow analysis shows a net reduction over the life of the bonds despite those mechanics. Board members requested a written explanation to be provided to the board clarifying whether U.S. GAAP treatment or other accounting practices were affecting the presentation and how the timing of cash flows compares between the two options.

The board did not take further action on refinancing in the meeting beyond receiving the update; staff indicated the transactions had closed that day and will supply additional documentation to board members on request.