The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District sold the first series of bonds from the Measure ES Bond authorization near historic low interest rates on July 29, 2014.
The District’s credit ratings and solid reputation generated significant interest from numerous municipal bond investors.
On the day of the bond sale, the Series A bonds had more than $164 million in orders from interested investors, but only $30 million of bonds to sell – an oversubscription of approximately 5.5 times.
This intense amount of interest allowed the financing team to further reduce interest rates. The Series A bonds – $30 million with a 23-year financing term – were sold with an overall interest rate 3.50 percent.
“This is a great result for the taxpayers of SMMUSD,” commented Superintendent Sandra Lyon, “and shows how strong board leadership and fiscal oversight results in a great sale of our bonds, a lower cost to our taxpayers and, ultimately, a great benefit to our students and community.”
Measure “ES” is a $385 million construction bond affirmed by the voters in November 2012, with focus on improving academic instruction, school safety, and technology of Santa Monica and Malibu schools.
