Huntington UFSD’s Long-Term Debt Almost Eliminated

The Huntington School District’s long-term debt continues continued to drop. The current amount of bonded debt is among the lowest of any comparably sized district on Long Island.

The district has pursued a pay-as-you-go approach to financing capital improvements and pension costs and has stubbornly adhered to a conservative budgeting philosophy.

A review of the district’s latest financial statements dated June 30, 2023 reveals the district has a low level of long-term debt, which has steadily declined in recent years.

Entering the current school year, Huntington owed just $650,000 in principal and $52,600 of interest for a total debt as of July 1, 2023 of $702,600.

The total debt will continue to fall each year through the 2025/26 school year. By June 30, 2026 the district will have completely extinguished its current long-term debt.

The district carried out a bond refunding in April 2015, which reduced the interest rate on its long-term bonded debt from between 4.125-4.25 percent to an average of 2.21 percent. The refunding resulted in interest savings of nearly $200,000 over the remaining years of the debt.

Huntington has dramatically reduced its debt in recent years. While there has been turnover on the Huntington School Board over the past three decades, trustees have maintained a general disdain for increased debt levels and or budget gimmicks and overly optimistic fiscal forecasts.

Trustees have allocated millions of dollars to finance renovation and reconstruction projects through voter approved capital reserve funds. By utilizing property taxes already paid, the district has saved taxpayers millions of dollars in debt service while still addressing Huntington’s capital project needs.