Supervisors Authorize TVUSD's $40M Sale of School Bonds

Riverside County supervisors today approved the sale of $40 million in bonds to pay for improvements to facilities and fund technology and other programs within the Temecula Valley Unified School District.

In a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor John Tavaglione absent, the Board of Supervisors signed off on the bond issuance, which follows Temecula-area voters' approval in November of Measure Y, authorizing the district to spend up to $165 million to cover expenses for a range of projects.

On Jan. 22, the Temecula Valley Unified Board of Education voted to issue $40 million in Measure Y general obligation bonds, but the new debt could not be assumed without the county's OK because the treasurer-tax collector is responsible for arranging the issuance.

According to the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector, the IOUs will be sold in $5,000 denominations. Interest rates on the notes will be set at auction but are not to exceed 6 percent, county documents state. Interest payments will be made semiannually until the bonds mature.

Los Angeles-based investment banking firm Stone & Youngberg has been hired to handle the sale, collecting a 1.1 percent fee for serving as underwriter.

According to a TVUSD Measure Y fact sheet, bond proceeds will be used to purchase new computer systems, upgrade classrooms, increase local schools' offerings of programs focused on science, math and high technology, as well as "repair and replace roofs, floors, walkways, lighting, electrical and plumbing systems."

The bonds will be backed by property taxes.

—City News Service