Northampton Area School District Board of Education has approved a refinancing plan that is expected to put $1.1 million into district coffers.

School directors voted 7-0, with two directors absent at the Nov. 21 meeting, to approve the authorization to issue $24 million in General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2017, to refund NASD’s General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2011 and Series A of 2011.

The refinancing is expected to save $1.1 million over nine years with the maximum savings in the first six years, NASD Board of Education President David Gogel told a reporter for Northampton Press after the Nov. 21 meeting.

An estimated $197,000 is to be received in savings during the 2017-18 school year. Similar savings are expected annually over the next six years with the savings lessening in the eighth and ninth years.

The savings is expected to be contributed to the NASD fund balance, which at the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year was about $15 million.

Chris Bamber, senior managing consultant, Public Financial Management Inc. (PFM), NASD financial advisory firm, in his presentation prior to the school board vote, said, “The (presidential) election has had an effect on the bond market. The rates did jump up a bit.”

The dual track of issuing bonds or seeking bank financing favors the bonds issuance, Bamber told the board in the 15-minute presentation Nov. 21 about bond refunding and the 2017 financing resolution.

“The results didn’t produce any better answers than the bond market,” Bamber said.

One remaining question for the refinancing is whether it would be done in two “bank-qualified” amounts of approximately $10 million each or one large amount, a decision to be determined in late December or early January, depending on the bond market.

“We want to see how the market plays out in the next month or so,” Bamber said.

The Nov. 21 board vote authorizes adoption of parameters for PFM to determine the best approach for issuing the bond on or about Jan. 9, if issued in one amount, or on or about Jan. 25, if divided into two portions, with settlement of the issuance planned for Feb. 15.

Of the refinancing, Attorney Kevin Reid, chair, Public Finance Law Practice, King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul LCC, which advises the district on bond financing legalities, said, “It’s a technique that’s been successful in the past (by NASD).”

Parameters set by the school board require a “minimum floor,” or minimum savings, of 2 percent, which is the “industry standard,” according to Reid.

Bamber made a presentation to the school board at the Sept. 26 meeting when the refinancing was proposed and discussed.

The board is expected to receive an update on bond refinancing plans from PFM at its tentatively scheduled Jan. 9 meeting.