The State Board of Education reversed an earlier rejection and voted last week to approve the plan by Pulaski County Special School District to issue $81.4 million of 27-year general obligation bonds. The district, which covers all of Pulaski County outside of Little Rock and North Little Rock, will use the proceeds to build new schools in Maumelle and Sherwood.
The board rejected the district’s request for bonds in April because the district’s trustees had not approved a financial plan for paying the $5.5 million annual debt service on the bonds. The board was also concerned that the tentative proposal called for cutting two days from the teacher work-year and eliminating several administrative positions to accommodate the additional debt service.
The approved plan calls for debt service payment from the $2.8 million in revenue from the district’s property tax and up to $3.5 million from new local property tax revenues provided by a $260 million increase in assessed property values since 2007. The plan also stipulates that if Jacksonville forms its own school district, the new district would be not responsible for the proposed bonds.
The district currently has some $67 million in outstanding bond debt. The proposed issue would boost debt service from the current $5.5 million per year to about $11 million.
The district’s debt, which is covered by the state’s school bond enhancement program, is rated A by Standard & Poor’s and A1 by Moody’s Investors Service.
