This study is intended to provide guidance to public school districts by identifying research based campaign strategies that have been proven to help with the successful passage of bond initiatives. In the United States, half of all public schools need at least one major facility repair and in Ohio, because tax initiatives in support of school…

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…

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act or ARRA) into law on February 17, 2009. This federal stimulus package provided an unprecedented infusion of new education aid for the nation's schools--more than $100 billion. To determine how the unprecedented federal infusion of education funding was…

Presents case studies of school district's efforts to get a school construction bond passed. It reveals multiple-year work where the districts put politics to work and succeeded in securing funding for their students' futures. Fifteen organizational steps for successful bond passage are highlighted. (GR)

A progress report reviews the Milwaukee School Board's continuous program of acquiring sites and building schools. An itemized listing of 140 completed construction projects is supplemented with pertinent facts and figures, including--(1) growth factors affecting school building needs, (2) resultant increases in the physical plant, staff and…

This report examines the relative merits of three types of bonds available in Pennsylvania for financing school buildings. These types are: (1) general obligation (GO) -- issued by the school board with or without the assent of electors, (2) municipal authorities created by local municipalities -- authorized to issue bonds to finance building…

Asserting that school district officials facing the need of extensive capital expenditures must analyze all sources of funding, this paper focuses on the predominant local funding mechanism of the school district bond issue. It presents a bond rating model with three separate stages that relate to the different choices facing a school district…

Describes how Greenville (South Carolina) Board of Education used installment purchase arrangement, coupled with a nonprofit corporation, to finance school construction. (PKP)

Examines how school district/community organization alliances help fund new school construction as well as provide students and the general public with extended services. Examples of how school/community-use programs evolved and their accomplishments are provided. (GR)

While the number of cases dealing with school property issues was significantly lower than in previous years, a significant number of cases involving the detachment and attachment of land to school districts arose. Eight of the eleven cases dealing with land detachment come from Illinois. The cases concerned requests from parents that their…

School construction is a politically charged challenge. Examples from a number of districts illustrate controversy over bond issue elections, facility planning, bidding, site selection, and new attendance boundaries. The real key to success is getting the community involved. (MLF)