St. Tammany Parish Wide School District No. 12 in Louisiana will renovate nine schools and replace portable buildings at six campuses with proceeds from $135 million of general obligation bonds approved by voters last week.
Voters also approved the rededication of an existing 3.44 mill tax and a new 3 mill property tax to fund salaries and benefits to compensate for declines in state aid to local education. Revenues from the 3.44 mill tax had been limited to school construction and operations.
The rededicated tax, which is expected to generate almost $6 million a year, will expire in 10 years unless reauthorized by voters. The new 3 mill tax will not result in a higher total rate because the district retired some debt.
Bond projects include $46 million for new classrooms to replace aging modular units and $52.5 million for renovations across the district. Another $20 million will be spent by the district on new technology to comply with state law requiring assessment tests to be taken on computers.
St. Tammany’s $236 million of outstanding debt is rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA by Standard & Poor’s.
