School Bond Closes With Historically Low Interest Rate

Princeton Public Schools have closed an $11 million bond with a historically low lending rate of 1.43 percent, much lower than the anticipated 2.5 percent. 

That means substantial savings for taxpayers, according to the district's Business Administrator Stephanie Kennedy. In September, officials estimated the tax impact from a 2.5 percent interest rate would result in less than $150 a year for the average home assessed in Princeton. 

Now interest on the debt will be more than $500,000 less than was originally projected, according to Mary Lyons, a financial advisor with Pheonix  Advisors, who helped with the sale of the bond.

“This means that we can get all of the projects done for fewer tax dollars over 10 years than we had originally projected,” Kennedy said.

Several factors led to the lower interest rate, including the district's Aaa rating by Moody's, which was re-affirmed this month. The Aaa rating is held by only a handful of school districts in New Jersey, according to district officials. 

The district will now proceed with its planned construction projects, many of which will go out for bid in February and be completed by Fall 2013.

In September, voters approved a $10.9 million bond for facilities improvements in the district. 

Among the projects to be completed:

• turning the old John Witherspoon Middle School gym into a media center
• energy efficiencies throughout the district
• new safety surfaces for the elementary school playgrounds 
• a generator for the middle school
• upgrades to the baseball facilities
• replacing the turf field, track and bleachers at the high school

To see a full list of the school's district's proposed list of improvements, click here.

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