Higher education bonds

CHICAGO — The Ohio State University will enter the market Tuesday with $741 million of bonds to launch a $2 billion capital expansion program.

New York plans to market its second qualified school construction bond deal next week with a $133.5 million offering on its personal income tax credit.

The federal government has formally announced an end to California’s role servicing guaranteed federal student loans, bringing an end to a program that state budget writers had viewed as a billion-dollar cash cow.

Illinois’ public universities have now received all or most of their fiscal 2010 state aid appropriation — a credit positive for the schools — but ongoing liquidity strains are expected until the state solves its budget crisis, Moody’s Investors Service said Monday.

The Tennessee State School Bond Authority plans to competitively sell $245 million of tax-exempt and taxable higher education revenue bonds Wednesday.

Pennsylvania State University will receive up to $122 million of federal funds to lead a team to develop energy-efficient technologies for buildings.

CHICAGO — Ohio has launched a new bond program aimed at lowering borrowing costs for two-year colleges across the state.

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons Monday announced the appointment former Treasurer Robert Seale to the board that oversees the state’s college savings plans program.

CHICAGO — The University of Akron in Ohio is pricing $135.7 million of bonds Wednesday that will allow the school to shift its debt into fixed-rate mode and terminate a costly interest-rate swap.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has told the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency that if it wants to settle a bond-related tax dispute, the settlement will have to cover all $700 million of its outstanding student loan debt.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded St. Olaf College’s rating to A1 from A2 due to strong cash-flow margins, healthy liquidity and its plan to reduce its floating-rate risk.

DALLAS — The Bexar County, Tex., Hospital District plans to price $205 million of certificates of obligation Wednesday backed by the Build America Bond subsidy to expand San Antonio’s University Health System.

Emily Youssouf, former president of the New York City Housing Development Corp., will begin teaching at New York University this fall, it was announced last week.

Moody's Investors Service placed Fresno Pacific University's Ba2 rating on a watchlist for a possible downgrade.

Moody's Investors Service warned this week that last week's flooding across central Iowa could have negative credit implications for the hardest-hit towns.

Gov. Mitch Daniels said Indiana's education budgets are likely to be spared additional cuts if revenues remain at their current levels. Late last year he ordered $300 million cut from the K-12 budget and $150 million from the higher-education budget to help offset declining revenues. The K-12 budget accounts for more than half of the state's general fund.

The City Colleges of Chicago has proposed a $457.5 million operating budget for fiscal 2011 and a $139 million capital budget to finance infrastructure and technology improvements.

DALLAS — The University of Texas System has approved building an $800 million hospital at its UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas that will be financed largely through revenue bonds.

CHICAGO — The cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools will receive about $100 million from Illinois’ share of education funding in the new $26 billion federal jobs law, local and federal officials said Wednesday.

DALLAS — The Louisiana Community and Technical College System will continue its capital improvements effort at its campuses across the state with proceeds from the negotiated sale of $68.7 million of revenue bonds on Aug. 23.