HERMISTON — The Hermiston School District officially opened sale of the bonds that will fund $82.7 million in construction projects over the next two years.

The bonds, handled by underwriter Piper Sandler (formerly PiperJaffrey), were priced on March 31 and have a final closing scheduled for April 9. They will pay for replacement of Rocky Heights Elementary School, a new elementary school on Theater Lane, a new annex for Hermiston High School and property for future growth.

According to a news release from the district, in addition to the sale of the $82.7 million approved by voters in November 2019, it also refinanced $2.8 million of a 2010 bond issue. The district will realize an additional $1.7 million in bond premium, and refunding the 2010 bonds means a savings of $382,448.

Previously, financial experts for the district estimated the bonds would carry $108 million in interest, but the total interest costs at closing were only $57.9 million, saving the district another $50 million. The district stated these savings were achieved through its strong Standard & Poor’s Global reaffirmed AA- credit rating and the market value at the time of the sale.

According to the news release, Hermiston voters can expect to see their property tax levy rate for the district to remain steady at approximately $3.65 per $1,000 of assessed value until 2030. Rates are now expected to drop to approximately $2.16 after that until 2045, which is almost a dollar less than the earlier projections of $3.15.