Treasury and Education Announce 2010 School Bond Allocation
March 18, 2010
The U.S. Departments of Treasury and Education announced $11 billion in funding today for low-cost bonds for school construction and acquisition of land. S.C. will receive $129 million and two school districts also got funding through a statutory formula — Charleston School District $15 million and Greenville County School District $14.3 million. Congressman Clyburn responded with the following statement:
I fought to ensure the Recovery Act would invest in school construction, and I am pleased to see these funds are being allocated today. As a representative of communities along the I-95 corridor that are faced with significant challenges, I know all too well the challenges schools districts face in raising funds for building and upgrading schools. This is an investment in the long term future of our state by providing quality facilities in which our students have the best opportunity to learn.”
Below is the information from the U.S. Department of Treasury and Education.
Recovery Act Program Provides $11 Billion to Build Schools, Create Jobs Across the Country
WASHINGTON – March 17, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Treasury and the Department of Education today announced $11 billion in allocation authority to issue qualified school construction bonds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). Qualified school construction bonds can be used to finance the construction, rehabilitation or repair of a public school facility or for the acquisition of land where a school will be built.
“Recovery Act school construction bonds provide low-cost borrowing to build and upgrade schools, which is a win-win for communities across the country,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin. “The projects funded with these bonds create jobs today building modern schools to prepare our kids for the global economy of tomorrow.”
Preparing students to compete in the global economy requires improvements in all aspects of our nation’s education system, including the environments in which they learn, added Education Deputy Secretary Tony Miller. The Recovery Act is keeping teachers in the classroom and, through the construction bond program, making lasting investments in the quality of our schools. Our kids deserve no less.
Created by the Recovery Act, qualified school construction bonds help state and local governments obtain low-cost financing for much needed public school improvements and construction. Investors who buy these bonds receive Federal income tax credits at prescribed tax credit rates in lieu of interest. These tax credit bonds essentially allow state and local governments to borrow without incurring interest costs.
The Recovery Act provided for the issuance of $11 billion of qualified school construction bonds by states and large local educational agencies in 2009 and $11 billion in 2010. The 2010 allocations include $6.6 billion of bonding authority to the 50 states and the remaining $4.4 billion of volume cap to 103 large local educational agencies under a statutory formula tied to levels of federal education grant funding.
