Grain Valley, Grandview, Lone Jack, Pleasant Hill included in school districts to receive interest-free bonds
Posted by GSDispatch Editor in by Office of Missouri Governor, Edu, GSD Online
Gov. Jay Nixon announced yesterday that dozens of Missouri school districts will receive a combined $141,441,000 in interest-free federal bonds to pay for construction projects financed through voter-approved bond issuances. Qualified School Construction Bonds awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go to 33 school districts around the state and help those districts pay financing costs connected with projects that are creating jobs and improving school facilities.
“Missouri school districts that have identified ways to fund projects and have gained the approval of taxpayers will benefit greatly from the Qualified School Construction Bond program,” said Gov. Nixon. “More than 30 districts will be able to borrow more than $140 million, interest-free, to help them build. This demonstrates that timely, taxpayer-endorsed investment in critical capital needs is a smart move, particularly when incentives reduce costs.”
The Qualified School Construction Bond program absorbs costs that would otherwise be incurred by school districts which have issued voter-approved bonds for construction projects, effectively allowing districts to borrow funds without paying interest. Bondholders are provided with federal tax credits in lieu of the interest that would ordinarily be paid by the school districts which issues them. Through the program, bondholders receive full return on their investment while school districts are able to finance school construction projects less expensively and jobs are created in local communities.
Missouri school districts receiving Qualified School Construction Bonds include the following districts in the following amounts:
Putnam Co R-I $489,997; Wright City R-II $489,997; N. St. Francois Co R-I $612,471; Sunrise R-IX $796,212; Ash Grove R-IV $995,265; Lone Jack C-6 $1,102,448; Crawford Co R-I $1,224,942; Green City R-I $1,286,189; King City R-I $1,378,060; Grandview R-II $1,531,178; Schuyler R-I $1,531,178; Canton R-V $1,714,919; Lafayette Co C-1 $1,776,166; Grandview C-4 $1,837,413; Sweet Springs R-VII $2,204,896; Clinton Co R-III $2,939,861; Dunklin R-V $3,062,355; Reeds Spring R-IV $3,567,644; Grain Valley R-V $3,613,579; Hollister R-V $3,981,062; Kearney R-I $4,440,415; Poplar Bluff R-I $4,899,767; Seneca R-VII $6,115,522; Lindbergh R-VIII $7,165,910; Blue Springs R-IV $9,187,066; Wentzville R-IV $9,187,066; Columbia 93 $9,187,066; Nixa R-II $9,187,066; University City $9,187,066; Warrensburg R-VI $9,187,066; Ritenour $9,187,066; Francis Howell $9,187,066; and Clayton $9,187,066.
The $141 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds awarded to Missouri school districts comes from a pool of $11 billion in bonds allocated across the nation. School districts with voter-approved construction bond issuances were able to apply for the federal program through a process administered by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
