School Board Awards Bond
The Berkeley County Board of Education got some good news during their meeting Wednesday. The board voted unanimously to accept the resolution to accept the lowest bid offer on the $51.5 million public school bond series passed by voters last year. The bid was awarded to Banc of America Merrill Lynch who bid an interest rate of 3.22%. Board members Bill Queen, Rick Pill and Todd Beckwith were present along with staff and Superintendent of Berkeley County Schools Manny Arvon when the bids were announced. The board had optimistically hoped for an interest rate of 4.5% and had estimated tax payers would need to pay close to $34 million in interest. That number is reduced by more than half with the actual rate to about $16.7 million. The lower rate also means tax payers will not see as large an increase in their yearly taxes as had been expected.
The interest rate of 3.22% from Banc of America Merrill Lynch was the best of nine bids, a record number for recent bond calls. Board member Rick Pill said there were a number of factors that led to the interest from bidders. Pill said that interest rates are basically low in the current economy, so timing played a role. He added that
Along with the interest rate Banc of America Merrill Lynch will also give the county a premium of more than $1.3 million over and above the $51.5 million. That money will be used for school improvements but will not need to be paid back by tax payers.
