The federal government has traditionally given local school districts an indirect subsidy by allowing them to issue tax-exempt bonds. Because the bondholders pay no tax on the interest income, they are willing to take a bond bearing interest at, say, 4.5% rather than 6%. Such lower interest is great for the school district because it saves the…

Despite the recent turmoil in the U.S. economy, most libraries that were tracked by "Library Journal" won their referenda at a rate just slightly lower than 2007. Nearly three-quarters of operating referenda passed. Building referenda under $10 million passed at a whopping 85%, with those over $10 million batting slightly better than…

Using Levin and McEwan's (2001) "ingredients method," this study identified the major activities and associated costs of school levy campaigns in five districts. The ingredients were divided into one of five cost categories--human resources, facilities, fees, marketing, and supplies. As to overall costs of the campaigns, estimates ranged…

Qualified school construction bonds (QSCBs) are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These bonds allow school districts to finance capital projects at no or very low interest rates. In a nutshell, bondholders accept a lower interest rate because the corresponding federal tax credit they receive subsidizes that lower interest…

Over the years, the author has had the opportunity to make several presentations to school boards. The author offers some tips and tricks she has learned, having given board presentations about the specific topics she listed in this article, and receiving feedback after each presentation. She points out that the most important thing to keep in…

Construction bonding authority--a technical, and often obscure, source of capital funding for school districts--has emerged as a hot ticket for those looking to finance school facilities work under the federal government's economic-stimulus program. School districts left out of the loop for direct funding are lining up for some of at least $24…

The ability to hold a successful bond election is a vital part of the superintendency in Texas. Aging facilities, increasing student enrollments, and technological needs exacerbate the need to gain community support for capital improvement projects. Appropriate facilities are needed not only for the physical space they provide, but also because…

Dozens of colleges and universities, including some of the country's wealthiest institutions, are facing a sharp rise in interest payments on a whopping mound of debt. About a third of the nearly 300 private institutions rated by Moody's Investors Service are financing more than half their debt with variable-rate bonds, some of whose rates have…

This study investigates parameters affecting the likelihood of passing school facility construction bonds by local district election. Using statewide data from Michigan, this study analyzes school bond data for urban (n = 30), suburban (n = 164), small town (n = 70), and rural (n = 241) school districts that held capital improvement bond elections…

In a world of high tech and low touch, it is easy for public relations programs to stray from tried-and-true interpersonal strategies long associated with solid communication planning. New technologies allow communications professionals to quickly send e-mails and telephone calls to selected groups. Social media sites provide users immediate…

This study was designed to explore fiscal interrelationships that underlay capital outlay funding, including the differences between rural and non-rural school districts. The study additionally focused on the relationships between various capital outlay funding components (capital outlay expenditures per pupil, net assessed valuation per pupil,…

The downward enrollment trend shown in this year's "AS&U" 100--a compilation of the nation's 100 largest school districts--is unmistakable. Added together, the 100 largest districts had 10,708,137 students in 2006-2007, compared with 10,763,959 in 2005-2006. Even districts that showed steady growth throughout the 1990s and the early…

Often superintendents and boards of education employ an expert-based, school-centered, "decide and defend" decision making approach when dealing with critical school district issues. In the case presented here, involving what to do with an historic school building, it is an approach that did not yield the result the superintendent or board of…

Despite a number of savvy strategies, it was a tough year at the polls for libraries. Both building and operating referenda had the lowest passage rates this decade, with only 52% of capital referenda and 57% of operating referenda finding success. In fact, in the 18 years since Library Journal has been tracking these votes, 2005 had the lowest…

Describes the origin and purpose of Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZAB) and how they work. QZABs were the outgrowth of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that allowed school districts to borrow money, without paying interest, to fund such educational improvement projects as building renovation, new equipment purchases, and staff development. (PKP)