Spring Branch ISD sells 2017, 2022 bonds for construction, equipment and buses
Despite a fluctuating bond market, Spring Branch ISD reports that it was able to earn a good return on investment to turn its bonds into proceeds to advance many projects in the district.
According to a press release, the district presented $307 million in bonds to the market on Oct. 5. Bonds, including bonuses, will yield $323 million for “the construction and equipping of school buildings, technological equipment and buses. Of the total bond proceeds, $142.2 million will support the 2017 bond projects and $180.8 million will fund the 2022 bond projects.”
The district claimed to have benefited from a “strong bond market” at the time and presented what it reported to be “the largest bond issue in the history of the district and, on (Wednesday, October 5), was the largest in the market nationwide. ”
Amid fluctuating interest rates, Spring Branch ISD secured an aggregate borrowing rate of 4.176%, which was lower than the 4.37% reported two days earlier.
“I appreciate the excellent work of our financial advisors, Post Oak Municipal Advisors and Masterson Advisors, and our lead underwriter, Jeffries, on this bond sale,” said Christine Porter, associate superintendent of finance. “Their work, along with our district’s strong bond rating, has led to lower interest rates that will save the SBISD community millions of dollars.”
The 2017 bond program was passed by more than 80% of those who voted in November 2017. The program was worth $898.4 million and is helping to transform most schools in the district.
A rebuilt Bunker Hill Elementary School opened earlier this year as part of the 2017 bond. Other schools to be rebuilt with the bond money are Hunters Creek Elementary Schools, Memorial Drive, Nottingham, Sherwood, Spring Shadows, Terrace, Thornwood and Woodview; as well as Landrum Middle School.
Other items included in the 2017 bond package include:
• Improve safety and security, building systems and technology on all campuses, including secondary school classroom furniture.
• Replacement of equipment in vocational and technical education classrooms.
• Replacement of aging musical instruments and uniforms.
• Improve sports, including four synthetic turf fields (Memorial, Northbrook, Stratford and Spring Woods secondary schools).
• Replacement of older buses.
For more information on Spring Branch ISD’s ongoing 2017 bond package, visit
www.springbranchisd.com/about/bond-2017.
The 2022 bond package was passed in May and is worth $381.6 million.
The bond package:
• Replace Guthrie Center, Spring Branch ISD’s central CTE facility.
• Improve classrooms, laboratories and facilities at the Guthrie Agricultural Science Center.
• Provide upgrades to CTE classrooms, labs, and facilities at four Spring Branch ISD high schools, six middle schools, and two specialty campuses and provide CTE-related technology equipment.
• Address identified district facility needs, including additional classrooms at Valley Oaks Elementary School to meet anticipated capacity challenges.
• Address stormwater retention in new buildings and code requirements put in place after Hurricane Harvey.
• Fund technology infrastructure improvements that support CTE programming and lifecycle replacement of audio-visual instructional tools and student and teacher devices.
Information about the bond package can be found at
www.springbranchisd.com/about/2022bond.
Porter and Comptroller David Bender run the district’s bond sale.
For more information on Spring Branch ISD, visit
www.springbranchise.com.
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