Having returned to teaching the basics of pricing fixed-income securities after several years, the author recalls the difficulty students have in understanding the total return provided by fixed-income securities that are purchased at either a discount or premium from face value. This teaching note attempts to clarify the concept by suggesting…

Nearly three years ago, in a span of just nine months, the North Harris Montgomery Community College District lost a bond referendum and its chancellor. Nine months later, the Houston-area district had a new leader, a new name, and a victorious bond issue. And this May--a year after the successful bond vote--the college bought an office complex…

The purpose of this study is to develop a costing model for maintenance and operations expenditures among 16 single-campus California community college districts and assess the impact of a variety of variables including size of student enrollment, physical plant age, acreage, gross square footage, and general obligation facility bonds on district…

Past reports by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) have sought to examine various aspects of Indiana public school funding such as the mechanisms for funding, school revenues and expenditures, as well as numerous other reports whose subjects have implications on school and program funding. This report focuses on another…

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…

The passage of a school bond can determine the direction of a district for many years to come (Faltys, 2006). Upkeep of older facilities and the building of new facilities can have an impact on instruction, teacher job satisfaction, student achievement, and perceptions toward the district (Moore, 2003). Despite the fact there is often state money…

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…

This dissertation presents a historical case study of the Egg Harbor Township School District bond referendum that passed with an exceptionally high 92 percent of votes in January 2005. The methodology used in this study resulted in both an examination of the components of the New Jersey Public School District bond referendum process as well as an…

The purpose of this study was to analyze opinions of selected school district stakeholders regarding potentially critical factors in school bond referendum success and failure in Kansas during the years 2004-2007. Of the 72 eligible school districts, one district was randomly selected from each of six groups formed through a stratified random…

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…