The information provided below is pertinent only to Arizona school districts.

Bond debt limits:

Q: Our voters authorized the issuance of bonds in the past. Can we issue bonds? If so, for how much?

A: It depends. According to ARS 15-1021E, general obligation bonds authorized by the voters at an election after 11/24/2009 expire ten years after the authorization date and any bonds authorized before this date expire six years after the authorization date.

However, just because your District has unexpired, authorized bonds does not necessarily mean you can issue bonds. The District has debt limits restricting the amount of bonded debt it can incur.

Class B bonded debt cannot exceed the greater of $1,500 per student count or 10 percent (20 percent for a unified district) of the assessed valuation of taxable property used for secondary property tax purposes within District at the time the bonds were issued.*

* Class A bonds are those authorized prior to 12/31/99 or more recent issues that refund Class A bonds.  Class B bonds are those authorized after 12/31/98 or refund another Class B bond issue.

 

Bond expenditures:

Q: We issued a bond. What can our District spend the proceeds on?

A: The District should ensure bond proceeds are expended as outlined for the purposes communicated to voters.  Bond proceeds should generally not be expended for items whose life is greater than the average life of the bonds issued or five years as outlined in ARS 15-1021F (in most cases five years will be the lessor of the two).  This can include many different things, including the purchasing or leasing of school lots, for building or renovating school buildings, for supplying school buildings with furniture, equipment and technology, for improving school grounds, or for purchasing pupil transportation vehicles. ARS 15-491 allows for bond proceeds to be used for furniture, equipment, and technology, other than fixtures, as long as the bonds mature no later than the July 1 that follows the fifth year after the bonds were issued.

 


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