Visalia school bond to end 3 years early

Property owners in Visalia Unified School District will see the Measure E school construction bond end three years sooner than scheduled thanks to the current low interest rate environment, the district said Monday.

And in a break for property owners, the annual assessment charged will be noticeably less than forecast.

Measure E, a $60.1 million bond authorization to be repaid over 30 years, was approved by voters in 2012. The second and final series of bonds was recently sold and now the repayment will occur over 27 years, officials said.

The bond was estimated to cost property owners an annual assessment of $30 per $100,000 valuation, but due to the low interest rate will actually be $22.63 per $100,000 valuation.

The money is being used to build a new middle school under construction and due to open in August 2016. The new 17,300-square-foot, 16-classroom academic wing at Redwood High School was also funded by Measure E.

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Visalia school bond to end 3 years early."