Butte College Trustees Approve Bond Refinance to Save Taxpayers $7 million

Oroville, CA – On February 5, 2015, the Butte-Glenn Community College District ("District") Board of Trustees approved the refinancing of $30,725,000 of the general obligation bonds that voters approved in 2002 for Measure A to finance the construction and modernization of the District's facilities. Through this refinancing, property owners in the Butte College District will save $7 million through lower property tax bills over the next 12 years.

This is the second refinancing of general obligation bonds the District has coordinated in the last three years. In February 2012, the District refinanced $23.8 million in outstanding bonds that saved over $5.6 million through 2026, bringing the total savings to Butte and Glenn county taxpayers to over $12.6 million over the life of the bonds.

As part of its preparation in selling the 2015 Refunding Bonds, the District's credit quality was reviewed by Moody's Investors Services and Standard & Poor's. Moody's confirmed the District's excellent rating of "Aa2" while Standard and Poor's upgraded the rating to "AA" from "AA-". The higher rating resulted in lower interest rates and ultimately added savings to property owners within the District.

The original general obligation bonds were issued in 2005 with an average interest rate of 4.53 percent and final maturity in 2027. The 2015 Refunding Bonds were sold with an average interest rate of 1.99 percent with the same final maturity of 2027.

"This is a great cost savings for taxpayers," said Dr. Kimberly Perry, Butte College President. "We're grateful to the voters for helping support Butte College, which enabled us to build new facilities such as the Chico Center, the Learning Resource Center, ARTS building, and Student Administrative Services Building, along with helping renovate other facilities such as the Library."