The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) allocated $11 billion per year for 2009 and 2010 for qualified school construction bonds (QSCBs) for America's schools. From a historical perspective, this program is a broad transformation of the federal role in school facility funding. This study examined factors associated with federal…

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…

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…

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…

This report provides standard facts and figures about the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) finances, student populations, achievements, and more. HISD has humanized that data, as well, with vignettes and profiles that typify the remarkable programs and individuals in the district. One of the three drivers to achieve the vision of…

Methodology: There is no national source of data or information on the federal role in funding and oversight for public PK-12 school facilities. To address this shortcoming, 21st Century School Fund has prepared this study with the support of the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. In collecting data and information for this report,…

This guide, designed primarily to assist school administrators, describes programs initiated by school districts to finance new school construction by nonconventional methods. Accompanying the basic information are case studies and charts illustrative of major financing alternatives and the decisionmaking routes that have led school districts to…

The combination of defeated bond issues and rising building costs is contributing to a decline in both the construction of new school buildings and the remodeling of existing buildings. For the first time in many years, debt service and capital outlay expenditures actually declined on a per pupil basis. No change in either voter preferences or…

The authors, after discussing the St. Louis school system and its financial history, survey both traditional and innovative construction finance alternatives that have been used across the country. These alternatives, which fall into two categories, include: (1) conventional financing through tax incomes including State and Federal aid, and (2)…

This study of State Provisions for Financing Public School Capital Outlay Programs has been conducted in accordance with a resolution requesting the study. It constitutes the first comprehensive effort to analyze existing policies and practices of States which participate in the financing of local schoolhouse construction. It also develops and…