Successful bond offering nets $75 million for facility upgrades

With its successful offering of $75 million in bonds earlier this month, the Dallas Independent School District was able to obtain funds for repairing, equipping and replacing existing school facilities while saving taxpayer money.

The proceeds from bond financing, known as Multi-Modal Limited Maintenance Tax Notes, will finance some of the improvements outlined in the $148 million Interim Bridge Plan approved in March by the Board of Trustees. Potential improvements under the full plan include classroom and campus renovations, heating and air conditioning system improvements, and the renovation of instructional and instructional support facilities.

Due to its strong financial position, Dallas ISD was able to obtain the financing at a lower-than-projected rate of 1.5 percent. This means the district and its taxpayers may save nearly $200,000 annually in interest on the financing.

The successful sale of the bonds comes just weeks Dallas ISD received favorable ratings from the three major bond rating agencies - Standard amp; Poor’s (Samp;P), Moody’s amp; Fitch.

Standard amp; Poor’s Ratings Services (Samp;P) increased Dallas ISD’s underlying debt rate to “AA” from “AA-“ and with a “stable” outlook.  Moody's Investors Service assigned Dallas ISD a bond rating of Aa1 for the fourth year in a row. Fitch Ratings mirrored Moody’s and affirmed the district’s underlying bond rating of AA+, while maintaining the district’s overall rating of “stable.”