Bids came in well under the projections Thursday for the general obligation bonds that are the first phase of construction that will lead to a new school building and parking lot for Kingfisher Public Schools.

At exactly the same time, the same results were taking place in a bid opening at Cashion Public Schools as well.

The Kingfisher branch of NBC Oklahoma was the lowest of five bids opened at a special noon meeting of the Kingfisher Board of Education.

NBC Oklahoma’s interest rate was 1.570249 percent, which equates to $132,215 in interest on the $3.35 million building bonds.

When the board called for the bond election, interest projections were 2.3 percent.

All bids opened Thursday came in under that projection.

“It’s great news,” KPS Superintendent Jason Sternberger said. “These rates were much better than projected, which saves our taxpayers money.”

NBC Oklahoma’s bid was made in association with The Baker Group of Oklahoma City.

Other bids submitted were:

• Country Club Bank of Prairie Village, Kan.: 1.638717 percent or $137,980;

• F&M Bank (Kingfisher branch) in association with First Bankers’ Banc Securities, Inc., of St. Louis: 1.677463 percent or $141,242.40;

• BOK Financial Securities of Oklahoma City: 1.8 percent or $151,560;

• BancFirst (Kingfisher branch): 2 percent or $168,400.

Matt Reichert of Stephen H. McDonald & Associates of Norman opened the bids.

“For bonds, there is no scenario where it’s cheapest and best bid,” Reichert said. “The cheapest is the best. Even if it’s by 1 cent.”

Voters in the KPS district in September passed a $16.75 million bond issue to allow for the construction of a new seventh and eighth grade center where the current APB parking lot sits.

A new parking lot, the first phase of the construction, will be built west of the high school.

That’s what the money from the bond bids opened Thursday will cover.

Sternberger said the district hopes to award a bid for the project prior to the Christmas break.

If the company that wins the bid can get started in a timely manner and weather cooperates, Sternberger said he hopes the new parking lot can be finished by the end of the school year.

“But there are a lot of variables in there,” he reminded.

On the same day Kingfisher voters passed a bond issue, voters in Cashion put through a pair of them totaling $19.75 million to provide for, among a number of projects, renovations at the elementary and middle schools, extra security measures, construction of a new track and repositioning of the baseball field.

Bids for $1.95 million in general obligation bonds toward that measure were also opened Thursday in a special meeting of that district’s board of education.

NBC Oklahoma was also the low bid of five opened at that meeting.

The NBC Oklahoma bid was 1.568 percent, or $76,440 in interest.

“The bids were well under projects,” reported Cashion Superintendent Sammy Jackson.

Other submitted bids were: Country Club Bank at 1.59 percent, F&M Bank at 1.7784 percent, BOK Securities at 1.8 percent and UMB in association with Community State Bank at 2 percent.

Jackson said the hope is to have all the projects that fall under the bond issue completed by August 2021.

“We hope to be using our baseball field and track next school year (Spring of 2021),” he said. “I don’t think the buildings will all be finished by then, but we are shooting for August 2021 for everything.”