Westonka captures roughly $5.2 million in interest savings after bond sale; board approves bond resolution

Matt Hammer of Miller's told the Westonka School Board on the evening it held its January meeting that this morning’s competitive bond bids produced significantly better financing terms than the district had expected. "We were able to capture about $350,000 in debt service savings," Hammer said, and, he added, the district is "about $5,200,000 of less" principal-and-interest cost than projected under earlier assumptions.

Hammer said the sale drew 12 bidders and that the district captured a larger-than-expected net premium and a purchase price near 105 percent of par. After a downsizing of some components, the true interest rate on the winning bid was reported at about 3.9 percent; Hammer identified Bank of America as the winning bidder in the presale results. "Your bonds were really attractive on the market today," he said.

Superintendent Kevin Borg and board members framed the sale as a strategic consolidation that combined refunds of older bonds with additional issuance and the district’s construction components. Borg said staff worked to structure the issue so it would be attractive to underwriters and to generate savings for taxpayers.

The board then took formal action: Chair moved approval of action item 8a, "resolution for the sale of general obligation school building bonds," the motion was seconded, and the voice vote carried. No roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript; the board announced the motion carried after the voice vote.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution for sale of general obligation school building bonds (action item 8a): approved by voice vote (motion seconded, "motion carries"). - Approval of the 2026 budget-planning calendar (action item 8b): approved by voice vote. - Resolution requiring tally of write-in votes only if write-ins exceed a candidate's total votes (action item 8c): approved by voice vote.

Why it matters: The bond sale's net savings — the $350,000 in near-term debt-service savings on the refunding and the larger $5.2 million estimated lower P&I burden — reduce the district’s long-term borrowing cost compared with earlier projections the district presented to voters, freeing capacity within the district's financing plan for planned construction and facility work.

What’s next: The board approved the bond-sale resolution at the January meeting; staff indicated they will continue to manage the issuance and follow through on construction scheduling and procurement tied to the bond proceeds.