School District 65 Adopts $2 Million Savings Plan

Lake Bluff School District 65 will save about $2 million by restructuring its bonds.

School Board members decided this week to use $5.75 from the district’s education fund to pay down the debt, which includes 2008 school referendum bonds and the 2010 refunded bonds, according to a district news release. District officials decided to combine the bonds into a single structure and take advantage of a lower interest rate. The bond term, which remains the same, ends in 2028.

“I am proud to have been part of this solution. The board came together in a way that was good for the community – the community asked for a change in debt structure and reserve levels, and the entire Board listened and spent many hours working as a team to make it happen,” School Board President Mark Barry said. The net result is that we were able to save both taxpayers and the district money in the short and long term without cutting any services. I am also very proud of the fact that we did this in a responsible and forward looking way, maintaining resources to be flexible in our ability to address possible facilities concerns at the middle school.”

The district will have more than $10 million — a fund balance of 60 percent — after the restructuring is complete. 

The School Board is in the process of establishing a fund balance policy to set minimum and maximum parameters and to further define its future use in more detail.