Palmerton Area School District took the next step toward refinancing its 2015 Series A bonds on Tuesday night.

The district’s board of directors unanimously approved a resolution that sets guidelines for its financial advisers while monitoring the market.

According to Zach Williard, of Public Financial Management, Palmerton is looking at between $600,000 and $700,000 of savings, depending on the final interest rate.

“We’ve been monitoring this opportunity for over a year,” Williard said. “Interest rates continue to be at record lows. We’re hoping that stays the case until the middle of October, which is when we’d be able to lock in an interest rate.”

Palmerton’s existing loans call for around $2.5 million each year in debt service payments.

The 2015 bonds become callable, however, in February 2021 and the district can close a transaction within 90 days of that date.

Williard said Palmerton’s estimated budgetary relief would come over a number of years.

“The final maturity would be in 2036 so we’re talking about a few hundred thousand dollars of savings in the next few years and then between $30,000 and $60,000 a year depending on how good we do in the market,” Williard said.

Director Earl Paules asked Williard how much it costs to do the refinancing.

“It’s about 2 percent and that is built into the numbers,” Williard answered. “You do get some reimbursement from the state on these bonds. The $600,000 to $700,000 savings estimate is after those costs.”

Lehighton Area School District is looking to restructure bonds from 2015.

Lehighton’s net debt service payments are estimated to be about $2.92 million in each of the next two years, but with a restructuring, the district could see a net budgetary savings of around $1.3 million, according to a presentation by Public Financial Management in June. The restructuring could add around $1.97 million in interest over the life of Lehighton’s bond payments.

Palmerton’s refinancing, however, would just be interest savings.

“We wouldn’t be stretching out the debt,” Williard said.