Upper Darby settles $45 million bond to continue Clifton Heights Middle School construction

Craig Rogers, presenting the finance update to the committee, said the district completed the second of three planned bond issuances to support construction of Clifton Heights Middle School.

Rogers recapped the schedule: due diligence and draft preliminary official statement in late February, a Moody's rating interview on March 6, a board vote on a maximum-parameter resolution March 11, rate pricing and lock March 26, and settlement on April 23, 2025.

He said the par amount of the issuance was about $43.89 million and that, after premium, discount and issuance costs, the district had approximately $45 million deposited to the construction account. "So the actual cash we have on hand from the issuance is $45 million," Rogers said.

Rogers described market conditions around the rate lock: the team locked rates before a period of increased volatility tied to tariff announcements, which pushed municipal yields higher in the weeks immediately after the lock. He reported an arbitrage yield figure of 4.714 for the issuance and said the district structured the project as multiple issuances to mitigate interest-rate risk and to leave refinancing options open later.

Committee members expressed concern that broader federal policy and market shifts can increase borrowing costs and ultimately affect taxpayers. Administration representatives replied that multi-step issuances were used to spread risk and that refinancing options will be evaluated when market conditions allow.

The committee received the update as informational; no bond action was taken at the meeting.