The Annandale School District saved taxpayers more than $116,000 and earned an award for its fiscal responsibility all in one move last week. On Monday, Oct. 23, the school board accepted a refinancing proposal that will save $9,711 a year for the next 11 years on debt accumulated to build the Annandale High School auditorium and all-weather track. Representatives of Ehlers and Associates also presented the board a certificate in honor of the district’s "prudent financial management, which has resulted in its stable financial position, expectations that revenue will continue to increase due to the steady growth in the district’s tax base and ongoing economic expansion and the district’s below average debt burden." The recognition came on the heels of an announcement that Moody’s Investors Service, a nationally known agency, had upgraded the district’s credit rating from A2 to A1, a rating only 10 other districts in the state can lay claim to. "It’s good new for us," said Supt. Steve Niklaus. "It’s not something that happens too often." The better rating means lower interest cost and lower taxes on the refinanced bonds. As a result, the district will end up saving about $30,000 more than was first projected back in September. Before their rating was raised, the district had to undergo an intense investigation from Moody’s, which included a 45- minute phone interview with representatives from the New York company. All that came about due to the district’s decision to refinance its bond debt to take advantage of a better interest rate. "The story is not the $116,000 savings over 11 years. That’s good, but not huge, but that an independent agency values the work that is done here," Niklaus said. In other news, the school board expects to have to repair a faulty sewer line from Bendix Elementary to Poplar Avenue that is leaking ground water into the system. The clay pipe, which runs through a slough area, has broken up do to the shifting ground, Niklaus said. As a result, ground water has leaked in, which has added stress to the city treatment plant by making it treat more water than it has to. The city estimates it is treating nearly 500,000 gallons each year of water that doesn’t need treating, Niklaus said. The city is asking the district to look into fixing it. Engineers will be looking at the project more closely, but for now they estimate a cost of about $45,000 to dig up the old pipe and replace it with a plastic one. The school might be able to use money from the deferred maintenance fund to pay for it. The fund is a new source of money granted in the form of additional levy authority from the state.
