Trustees of Maricopa County Elementary School District No. 3 will meet this week to discuss how a prolonged drop in property values in the county will affect the district’s ability to issue $77 million of bonds approved by voters last year.
District officials said they anticipate a 40% decline in bonding capacity due to the decline, for a revised $45 million debt program.
The district serves the Phoenix suburb of Tempe.
The elementary school district earlier this year sold $21.2 million of the bonds from the 2009 authorization.
The Maricopa County Assessors Office told local Arizona governments earlier this year to expect a 35% decline in property tax values.
The median value of a single-family home in Maricopa County was $203,300 in fiscal 2010, the assessor’s office said, but the value is expected to drop to $172,800 in fiscal 2011 and $149,500 in fiscal 2012.
School officials will brief the trustees on options for proceeding with the bond program.
The board is expected to take formal action on the revised effort Oct. 20.
The original program called for improvements to all the district’s facilities, except for several schools that have been rebuilt recently.
Proceeds are dedicated to the district’s long-range capital facilities plan, along with maintenance projects on roofs and electrical and mechanical systems at some schools that are up to 30 years old.
The district’s debt is rated A1 by Moody’s Investors Service.
