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6 Districts Qualify for $58 Million in Bond Authority
OLYMPIA — February 1, 2011 — A total of six districts qualified to receive $58 million in bond authority to improve existing schools or build new schools, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced this past week.
The Qualified School Construction Bond program, created by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, provides districts with bond authority for use in the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of a public school facility.
Allocations, which are the maximum qualified school construction bond amounts the districts can issue, range from $1 million to $17.5 million. A total of $57,888,000 in QSCB bonds are being allocated. To date, Washington State school districts issued $270 million of QSCBs.
“The Qualified School Construction Bonds program will make it easier for districts to finance local bonds,” said Randy Dorn, state superintendent. “That will make it easier for schools to make necessary repairs and renovations.”
The following school districts have been awarded a 2010 QSCB program allocation.
| 2011 QSCB Program |
| School District |
Allocation |
| Asotin-Anatone |
$ 12,800,000 |
| Eastmont |
$ 15,558,000 |
| Newport |
$ 1,000,000 |
| Orcas Island |
$ 6,000,000 |
| Vashon |
$ 17,500,000 |
| Wellpinit |
$ 5,030,000 |
The QSCB program differs from other bond programs in that it was intended to
be interest-free. Districts participating in the program have the option to
receive a rebate from the U.S. Department of Treasury for the cost of the
interest.
A competitive selection process was used to determine the 2011 QSCB
allocations. The process took many factors into account, such as:
- the district’s past issuances of QSCBs;
- job creation;
- use of funds for instruction space;
- expanding the physical capacity of all-day kindergarten;
- decreasing K-4 class size;
- increasing capacity for instructional lab sciences, the
arts, computer labs and career and technical educational
offerings; and
- the district’s ability to raise funds measured in terms of
assessed value per student.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 education in Washington state. Led by State School Superintendent Randy Dorn, OSPI works with the state’s 295 school districts and nine Educational Service Districts to administer basic education programs and implement education reform on behalf of more than one million public school students.
OSPI does not discriminate and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual preference/orientation, age, veteran’s status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.
CONTACT:
Nathan Olson
OSPI Communications Manager
(360) 725-6015
FOLLOW:
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The OSPI Communications Office serves as the central point of contact for local, regional and national media covering K-12 education issues.
Communications Manager
Nathan Olson
(360) 725-6015
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