Cascade School District eases tax rate with bond refinancing amid levy renewal requests

LEAVENWORTH – Cascade School District (CSD) successfully refinanced their outstanding 2015 bonds through a public sale of Unlimited Tax General Obligation Refunding Bonds, 2025, on Feb. 4, totaling $16.4 million.

The district’s move reduces its existing debt and will save taxpayers over $1.54 million over the next ten years.

“Cascade’s School Board and administration have worked diligently to secure all the pieces necessary to make this a successful bond sale.  Success as measured by the ultimate borrowing cost for the bonds.  The lower the cost, the lower the tax burden incurred by our community.  All our efforts strive to provide a result that truly honors the community’s support,” said CSD Superintendent Dr. Tracey Edou in a press release.

Akin to levies, bonds play a primary role in local funding measures for school districts, which rely on a combination of federal, state, and local funding. Both levies and bonds are supported by taxpayers and must pass voter approval. 

However, while levies support programs and services for students that the state does not fully fund as part of “basic education,” bonds provide funding for building-related projects such as constructing new schools or modernizing existing schools. 

Voters approved a 20-year bond in 2015, which has funded the building of Alpine Lakes Elementary and the renovations of Cascade High School and Peshastin-Dryden Elementary.   The timing of the refinancing aligns with the district's request for voters to renew the expiring four-year EP&O and capital levies, originally passed in 2021. 

“Our communities were very gracious to support the building or renovation of our schools. So, we are also keeping our eye on the overall tax rate, and not only the levy rate, and that's why we're trying to refinance our bonds to provide a little bit of relief there,” said Edou to Ward Media.

The CSD board approved the issuance of refunding bonds during its Nov. 25 meeting. Low interest rates allowed the district to exceed its savings target, with interest rates averaging 3.15 percent on the new bonds, compared to 4.68 percent on the debt that was refinanced.

According to the school district, it was able to achieve this result by its record of “responsible stewardship and financial management.” In Jan. 2025, the district received an 'A1' rating from Moody’s, encouraging more interest in investors to buy the bonds and helping the district borrow money at a lower cost for residents. Additionally, its participation in the Washington State School District Credit Enhancement Program provided investors with surety for the repayment of the bonds.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media