For 1st Time in 17 Years, Chicago To Sell Bonds for School Facilities

By Ann Bradley

The Chicago school district this week will begin selling bonds that will pay for the first phase of an $806 million program to renovate and build schools.

The $350 million bond sale marks the first time in 17 years that the district has been on a solid enough footing to raise money in the financial markets. In 1979, the system went bankrupt and its credit rating plummeted, making bond sales impossible.

But the finances of the nation's third-largest school system have improved markedly since last summer, under the direction of a board of trustees appointed by...