AUSD Bond Refinance Saves Taxpayers $12.1 Million
A summer bond sale let Alameda's school district refinance old debt and keep building its Measure B projects, at a lower cost to local taxpayers.
By The Alameda Pulse
The Alameda Unified School District sold $162.6 million in bonds this summer, using part of the deal to refinance older debt and save local taxpayers $12.1 million over the life of the bonds while keeping its Measure B campus projects moving.
- Where: Alameda Unified School District, Alameda, CA
- When: The bonds sold this summer, 2026
- Amount: $162.6 million total, $95 million for new Measure B work and $67 million to refinance older bonds
- Savings: $12.1 million over the life of the bonds, about $933,000 a year
- Who decided: AUSD, using authority voters gave the district under 2022's Measure B
How much money did AUSD actually save?
$12.1 million over the life of the bonds, which works out to roughly $933,000 a year that would otherwise have gone to interest payments instead of classrooms. The district locked in a 4.14 percent interest rate on the refinanced debt. That's not pocket change: it's close to what the district spends running a small elementary school for a year, saved year after year for as long as the bonds are outstanding.
What projects does this bond money pay for?
The $95 million in new borrowing keeps several Measure B projects on track, including the athletic field and gym at Encinal High School, the new campus at Wood Middle School, the rebuild at Otis Elementary, the renovated Kofman Auditorium at Alameda High School, and a new swim center at Alameda High. Voters approved Measure B back in 2022 specifically to pay for this kind of campus construction across the district.
Why did Wall Street want in on this deal?
Investors put in $742 million in orders for just $162.6 million in bonds, a sign they see AUSD as a safe bet. Standard & Poor's rates the district AA, and Moody's rates it Aa2 and just bumped its outlook from stable to positive. That confidence is part of why the district could lock in a rate as low as 4.14 percent instead of paying more.
What this means for Alameda
Refinancing doesn't raise a single new tax bill. It just means the debt Alameda property owners are already paying off through their tax bills costs less than it used to, while construction on projects like the Otis Elementary rebuild keeps going. You can read the district's own numbers in AUSD's announcement of the bond refinancing, and find more of what's happening across the district at the Pulse's Alameda education coverage.
