RE-1 Valley School Board Approves Bond Refunding to Save Taxpayers Money

The school district is refinancing existing bonds to lower interest rates and generate savings for taxpayers.

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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The RE-1 Valley School Board approved a resolution to issue general obligation refunding bonds to refinance certain outstanding bonds at a lower interest rate. This move is expected to generate savings for taxpayers over the next seven and a half years. The district's Chief Financial Officer noted that Moody's recently gave RE-1 an enhanced bond rating of AA2, which should result in a favorable interest rate on the refunding bonds.

Why it matters

The bond refunding is part of the district's efforts to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars. Residents have seen significant increases in their property tax bills this year due to a combination of factors, including a reassessment year, the expiration of a tax credit, and the district increasing its mill levy. The bond refunding is intended to help ease the tax burden on taxpayers.

The details

The school board approved the resolution to issue general obligation refunding bonds series 2026A to refinance the district's existing 2016 bonds. This will push out the maturity of the bonds by three years to reevaluate interest rates and achieve potential savings for taxpayers. The district's financial advisor recommended pursuing the refunding now, ahead of the potential issuance of new bonds in the upcoming year.

  • The existing 2016 bonds were set to mature in December 2030.
  • The refunding bonds will extend the maturity by three years.

The players

RE-1 Valley School District

The school district serving the RE-1 Valley region.

Joel McCracken

President of the RE-1 Valley School Board.

Luke Janes

Chief Financial Officer of the RE-1 Valley School District.

Dan O'Connell

Managing Director of RBC Capital Markets, the financial advisor for the RE-1 Valley School District.

Dustin Hunt

Superintendent of the RE-1 Valley School District.

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What they’re saying

“We have currently one general obligation bond outstanding, our 2016 bonds. Those would normally mature in December of 2030. What's in front of you tonight is refunding, similar to refinancing, of those bonds to push out that maturity another three years and reevaluate interest rates to achieve some potential savings for taxpayers.”

— Luke Janes, Chief Financial Officer (journal-advocate.com)

“Moody's just gave RE-1 an enhanced bond rating of AA2, which is the third best rating the district can possibly get and better than anticipated. So, our interest rate should be lower. Pricing will occur in a couple of weeks following board approval tonight. We should get a favorable interest rate, which should help further savings for taxpayers over the next seven and a half years.”

— Luke Janes, Chief Financial Officer (journal-advocate.com)

“We're going to have to get to the place where we do a really good job of living within our means the next couple of years to right the ship, to get our reserves where they belong. We can't continue going down the path that we currently are, we're going to have to make some changes and that's never easy.”

— Dustin Hunt, Superintendent (journal-advocate.com)

What’s next

The district will price the refunding bonds in the coming weeks following the board's approval.

The takeaway

The RE-1 Valley School District is taking proactive steps to manage its finances responsibly and provide taxpayers with some relief from rising property tax bills. The bond refunding is part of a broader effort to ensure the district lives within its means and maintains healthy financial reserves.