POST FALLS — Taxpayers in the Post Falls School District will save $805,000 in bond repayment costs as a result of a recent bond refinancing.

The district refinanced $11 million in bonds that remained from the 2015 bond election that built Greensferry Elementary and expanded River City Middle School.

The refinancing lowered the district’s effective interest rate from 4.71% to 3.45% while keeping the same final maturity date of Aug. 15, 2034.

The bond refinance process concluded June 10 but has been in the works since October 2024.

"We worked with Piper Sandler & Co., a trusted partner for school districts across Idaho," Post Falls School District Chief Financial Officer Josh Gittel said Tuesday. "They were instrumental in helping us time the refinance to ensure the greatest savings for our taxpayers."

Gittel said the primary reason the district wanted to refinance the bonds was to create additional cost savings for local taxpayers.

Voters originally approved the bonds in 2015 to fund the construction of Greensferry Elementary and provide an addition to River City Middle School. After 10 years, the 2015 bonds became eligible for refinancing, provided the total amount and maturity date were not increased, Gittel said.

"It is a fairly common practice for districts to consider bond refinancing when interest rates are favorable," he said. "If the savings are not there, it does not make sense to move forward. In our case, the refinance rate provided significant taxpayer savings of close to $805,000 over the next nine years. Every dollar saved through this process is a dollar saved for our taxpayers, which benefits our community." 

None of the savings can be transferred to the district’s general fund but must go toward lowering the amount of property taxes collected.

"Taxpayers will see a small decrease in their Post Falls School District property taxes," Gittel said. "However, there are also state of Idaho property tax relief funds at play, which further reduce taxes and can make the picture a bit confusing. Isolating just the savings from the bond refinance, a taxpayer could see an estimated reduction of about 90 cents per $100,000 of taxable value of their home."

The district’s “Aa3” bond rating from Moody’s, a global credit rating agency, helped to achieve the favorable results from the bond refinancing. The district was upgraded from A1 to Aa3 in February 2024. Moody’s cited the following about the district in its May 14 written credit report: "Healthy and growing local economy in favorable proximity to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene" and "Sound financial reserves that are expected to be maintained above pre-pandemic levels, supported by prudent and conservative management."

"This speaks to the history and reputation Post Falls School District has for managing taxpayer funds wisely," Gittel said.

The Post Falls School District currently has two outstanding bonds — the 2015 bond for Greensferry and River City, and the 2019 bond, which built Treaty Rock Elementary and provided several updates to other district buildings. These bonds have maturity dates of Aug. 15, 2034, and Sept. 15, 2039, respectively.