School bonds

Amid rising construction costs and supply chain shortfalls, some California school bond projects are being redesigned, accelerated or delayed.

A change by the IRS increases the Permanent School Fund's capacity by nearly 86%, allowing its triple-A school bond guarantee to be widely available again.

UBS will compensate a Texas school district, which was forced to resell bonds after the state attorney general rejected the investment bank's contract to purchase the debt.

A proposed IRS regulation boosts the amount of bonds that can be guaranteed by nearly 86% to about $218 billion.

Sale of the tax-exempt notes is expected on May 9 and proceeds will support improvements to educational technology in school's statewide.

Public school districts account for most of the bonds on ballots as some need to finance new facilities to accommodate rising enrollment.

Indianapolis Public Schools wants $410 million for projects throughout the district with 23 schools in line for improvements.

The state's record per-pupil spending counteracts concerns over enrollment declines.

After falling to just $26.6 million in December, state officials lowered the program's reserves effective March 1 to boost capacity.

Headwinds remain, despite the S&P upgrade, as the district warns of a $600 million gap once federal COVID-19 aid runs out with its governance poised to change.

Tioga Independent School District, located north of Dallas, has a state-appointed monitor to develop and implement "a corrective action plan."

Redwood City-based Summit Public Schools had its bond rating downgraded to Ba3 from Baa3 by Moody's and its outlook revised to negative.

The school district's AA-plus rating is supported by strong reserves and Houston's economic strength, S&P Global Ratings analysts said.

The Texas Education Agency, which initially sought the takeover in 2019, will appoint managers to run the state's largest public school system.

Chicago's school district will tap its investment-grade dedicated capital improvement tax credit for the first time in five years in a $529 million deal.

Gov. Greg Abbott used his State of the State address to fast track his priorities for the legislative session and drop a hint about an upcoming $100 billion transportation infrastructure plan.

Rating analysts said dropping reserves to 0.25% from 5% to free up capacity does not impact the school bond guarantee program's triple-A ratings.

A reduction in the program's reserves and February debt payments and maturities of outstanding guaranteed bonds will increase capacity by $7 billion to $9 billion.

Rising interest rates depressed refunding opportunities, but new money issuance rose amid demand for infrastructure to serve the region's growing population.

Despite its nearly drained capacity, the Texas Permanent School Fund program continues to operate as it seeks legislative and regulatory solutions to a federal cap.