Education Funding News in Brief

Texas Board Halts Guarantees of Bonds

By The Associated Press — March 10, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Texas state board of education said last week the continuing economic downturn is causing it to halt the school bond-guarantee program until at least September.

The program helped lower interest costs on school construction projects, but the board said the program is at capacity now. There is no risk to the guarantee program itself, officials said, nor to the tax-exempt status of any school district bonds that have already been sold.

In December, the state announced it was temporarily suspending the program, which it has provided for 25 years. At that time, the Texas Education Agency said that school bonds could again be guaranteed as soon as January, depending on the market.

But as the economy has fallen, the Permanent School Fund’s value has also plummeted, from $26.6 billion in 2007 down to about $17.5 billion now. The diminished value of the funds coupled with the number of districts requesting the bond guarantee have temporarily impaired the state’s ability to back the issuance of school bonds.

A version of this article appeared in the March 11, 2009 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
How to Leverage Virtual Learning: Preparing Students for the Future
Hear from an expert panel how best to leverage virtual learning in your district to achieve your goals.
Content provided by Class
English-Language Learners Webinar AI and English Learners: What Teachers Need to Know
Explore the role of AI in multilingual education and its potential limitations.
Education Webinar The K-12 Leader: Data and Insights Every Marketer Needs to Know
Which topics are capturing the attention of district and school leaders? Discover how to align your content with the topics your target audience cares about most. 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Explainer 3 Steps to Keep Tutoring Going When ESSER Money Runs Out
Schools may lose more than $1,200 per student as enrollment falls and federal COVID relief funds expire next year.
4 min read
Illustration of a dollar sign falling over a cliff.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Education Funding Opinion Foundations Have Given Money to Schools for a Long Time. What's Actually Working?
Investments in one key area seem to be making a difference when it comes to improving schools.
14 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Opinion Education Funders Need to Ditch the Savior Complex
Trust in the input from teachers, staff, community, and students will go a long way toward making initiatives successful.
12 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Education Funding Opinion Foundations Invest in Public Education. Teachers Would Like the Money Spent These Ways
Philanthropies invest millions on trying to improve student achievement. Educators don't always agree on what they're targeting.
14 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty