By Janine DavisRecord Staff WriterThe Warren County R-III School District Board of Education last week unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the sale of more than $6 million general obligation refunding bonds.The bonds will yield significant savings to taxpayers through lower interest expenses, school officials reported.Approved during last week’s monthly board meeting was the sale of $6,085,000 general obligation refunding bonds at an average interest rate of 1.10 percent, compared to the Series 2010A Refunded Bonds which have carried an average interest rate of 2.51 percent.Through the refunding process, the district is poised to reduce future interest expenses by $258,433, according to school officials.The proposal was presented by Tom Pisarkiewicz, chief financial officer of the district’s financial consulting firm, L. J. Hart & Company of St. Louis.The $258,433 of interest avoidance means the district will have saved $4,549,537 over the past two decades from refundings and prepayments, Pisarkiewicz told the board.“This plan allows the district to pay its debt off faster while still preserving considerable flexibility for a future new-money bond issue with voter approval,” said R-III Superintendent Dr. Jim Chandler. “It also illustrates the benefit to our taxpayers of utilizing short-term call features on the school’s financing.”Board President Teresa Scott said the $258,433 of interest savings for the Series 2014 refunding bond is not all the district may realize, since the Series 2014 Refunding Bonds having a call feature in 2016 at no penalty.“If we have excess money in the debt service fund in 2016 or later, we can take advantage of a prepayment,” said Scott. “In the meantime, we’re locking in these levels that are almost 1 1/2 percent lower than they were in 2010.”Pisarkiewicz said three significant factors making the Series 2014 refunding possible were current lower interest rates compared to 2010, a feature that allowed the Series 2010A Bonds to become callable on and after March 1, 2014, at no penalty, and the district’s ability to participate in the State of Missouri’s Direct Deposit Program. This program makes it possible for R-III to receive a “AA+” rating from Standard & Poor’s Corporation on the refunding bonds that contribute to the lower interest rate.Pisarkiewicz said that the bonds were marketed to community banks, and that The Missouri Bank purchased $750,000, which was helpful to the success of the financing.Closing for the Series 2014 Refunding Bond issue is planned for April 11.R-III Board OKs general obligation bond refund