Northville, Michigan — February 24, 2022 — The Northville Public Schools Board of Education is pleased to announce it has completed a bond refunding transaction that will save District taxpayers over $140,000 in interest costs over the next two years. The savings comes from selling bonds at a low interest rate, and using the proceeds to pay down bonds with a higher interest rate. These savings are net of all bond issuance costs and directly benefit District taxpayers.
Superintendent Mary K. Gallagher explained the District’s decision to pursue this transaction: “While the bonds being refunded could not be called until this year and had only two years left until they matured, we still felt the savings was significant enough to pursue this transaction. We take our responsibility to the taxpayers seriously, and when an opportunity like this presented itself, we knew it was the prudent thing to do.”
School District bonds were well received despite a volatile market - Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Michael Zopf coordinated this transaction for the District. Mr. Zopf stated, “I was a bit nervous about the timing given the uncertainty in the market, but I could not be more pleased with the response to our request for bids. The bids we received clearly show that Northville Public Schools has a strong reputation for the way we manage our finances. I am grateful for the work of our financing team that helped put this process together which resulted in these savings.”
The District was advised by PFM Financial Services while Thrun Law Firm provided legal services. The bond sale bid process was led by the public finance arm of Raymond James and Associates.
Local Raymond James Financial Advisor Todd Knickerbocker was pleased with the results, “While Raymond James is a nationally respected financial firm, our success comes from our commitment to our local communities. I live and work in Northville, and am proud Raymond James could help our Schools save taxpayers over $140,000!”