The Jefferson City Public School District is refinancing another portion of the 2007 bond to save money because of a lower interest rate.
The 2007 bond for about $41 million was used to add onto all the elementary schools after the district decided to transition into full-day kindergarten, to upgrade the library media centers and to build Pioneer Trail Elementary School.
Jason Hoffman, chief financial officer and chief operating officer for JCPS, said the district will have a cumulative overall savings of $293,074 after refinancing $5.24 million of the bond.
The new interest rate is 1.59 percent on average - the old interest rate was about 5 percent.
Hoffman said refinancing a bond is similar to refinancing a house. The district receives a lower interest rate, and it does not affect the length of time the district will pay off the debt.
JCPS has a total of $33.68 million in outstanding debt from the 2007 bond that is planned to be paid off by 2027.
"The district has a very low amount of debt for a school district," Hoffman said. "Districts can't go past a 15 percent threshold of total assessed valuation. We have the bonding authority to issue $180 million in debt."
The total assessed valuation is calculated based on commercial, agriculture and personal property within the JCPS district.
JCPS has refinanced two $9 million portions of the bond in 2012 and 2014.
Hoffman said the district has another opportunity to refinance about $9 million in late 2016.