Reissued School Bonds to Cut Tax Payments

The sale of special tax refunding bonds will save property owners in Aliso Viejo and part of Mission Viejo an estimated $9.7 million, Capistrano Unified School District trustees said this week.

The bonds, sold Aug. 29, will reduce taxes on developed and undeveloped properties and also provide about $3 million in financing for new schools without increasing the overall debt payment, officials said.

“The deal is record-breaking,” said Terri E. Lunine, deputy superintendent of the school district. “This is the only way we’ll be able to build school facilities in the future.”

In 1987, trustees formed the Community Facilities District to raise money by selling bonds. One bond issue was sold in 1989 for more than $44 million and another in 1990 for about $33 million.

Taking advantage of the current low interest rates, the newly formed Capistrano Unified Public Financing Authority bought the old bonds and issued new ones at a lower rate.

Owners of undeveloped properties are projected to see tax savings through 2001 totaling $2 million. Owners of developed property are expected to save more than $7.7 million, starting in 2002 through the final maturity of the bonds in 2020, officials said.