Shasta College Issues $30M In Measure H Bonds, Saves Taxpayers $2M In Borrowing Costs

In December 2020, the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District (“District”) board authorized a 30 million dollar bond issuance from the voter-approved $139 million general obligation bond (Measure H) passed in November 2016. The District took advantage of historically low-interest rates in deciding for this third issuance of Measure H Bonds and received a True Interest Cost of only 1.931%. This decision reduced total estimated borrowing costs and helped make a realized difference of $2 million in lower property taxes over the life of the bonds. The District also refunded some existing bonds from Measure A, passed by voters in March 2002. The college refunded $3.3 million in old bonds, which resulted in additional property taxpayer savings of nearly $300,000. 

Shasta College President Joe Wyse stated, “With interest rates near historic lows, we wanted to take this opportunity to further our capital facilities improvements while saving our community money over the coming years.”  

Specific projects that will benefit from these and other Measure H proceeds include: the construction of a Regional Public Safety Training Center for fire, law enforcement, and EMT programs, construction of a dedicated Veterans Support Center, and construction of a new training facility for Career Technical Education (CTE). Other projects under the Measure H bond will be: upgrading science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) labs, constructing a cutting-edge Computer Information Systems (CIS) building, upgrading technology for our outreach campus including the Trinity Campus, the Intermountain Campus, and the Tehama Campus, and constructing a new Student Support Center on the Tehama Campus.

Jill Ault, Shasta College Associate Vice President of Business Services, added, “We recognize and are grateful for the support and trust we have received from our community with the passage of Measure H. For our part, the District strives to be a good steward with the taxpayer dollars entrusted to modernize campus facilities to help improve student success. With our community facing uncertainty during these challenging times, we are pleased that we can refinance bond dollars to save taxpayers money.”

Shasta College is a community college and the only public post-secondary institution in a 10,132 square mile three-county area (Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) in rural far-northern California. Serving over 13,600 students, the District has two campuses in Redding, a campus in Tehama, Weaverville, and Burney, in addition to its many online courses and programs. Shasta College offers certificates, Associate Degrees, transfer options, and an entirely online Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management. Shasta College has been honored to receive numerous grants for innovative programs that have led to the continued success of the students and communities served.