07.30.09: Deferred Maintenance Funding Continues
By David Walrath
The 2009-10 State Budget funds deferred maintenance for the second year of the five-year schedule. This funding should be approximately equal to last year’s funding for those school districts receiving deferred maintenance allocations as part of the consolidated categorical flexibility program. Sufficient funding also has been appropriated to meet the second year allocation costs for those school districts with deferred maintenance extreme hardship.
SSDA suggests that all school districts with deferred maintenance extreme hardship projects and that have not started their project, should consider initiating their project if the district can acquire funding for the remaining 60% of project costs.
While most of the deferred maintenance extreme hardship projects will be less than $1 million and bond issuance cost is high for a less than $1 million issuance, SSDA encourages member districts to consider pooling together the issuance of bonds to reduce issuance costs. The new federal almost interest free Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs), administered by the California Department of Education, are an example of bonds which could be pooled.
SSDA encourages you to talk with your district’s financial consultant on whether the QSCB program, Certificates of Participation, or other borrowing is fiscally best for your district.
For more information on how the State Budget is affecting School Facility Program funding, please consider registering for the SSDA Webinar on "Fiscal Survival in Small School Districts – FY 2009-2010" being held on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.
For registration information, please visit our homepage.
