Bond issue for schools approved

By Emily Richmond

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

The Clark County Debt Management Commission has approved a request from school officials to issue $475 million in bonds to build new schools and renovate existing facilities.

In 1998 voters approved a plan to continue property tax increases that were due to expire, garnering the Clark County School District $3.5 billion over 10 years to build 88 new schools. School officials must get the debt management commission's approval each time they seek to issue new bonds.

Usually, the district's share of the tax revenue would decrease each year as older bonds are paid off, said Carol Vilardo, a member of the commission and president of the Nevada Taypayers Association. The commission voted Friday to let the School District's share of the property taxes continue at its present rate of 55 cents for every $100 of assessed value, Vitardo said.

The extension will not affect taypayer rates, Vilardo said.

The Debt Management Commission, along with the School District's Bond Oversight Committee, work in tandem as the "checks and balances," School Board President Sheila Moulton said. The 1998 bond measure required School District officials to seek the money in yearly increments, Moulton said.

"We're following through on our promises to the voters who told us to go for it in 1998," Moulton said.

Stringent guidelines limit how the bond money can be spent. The School District predicts a $10 million budget shortfall for next year, but the bond money cannot be used for operational expenses, Moulton said.

The School Board in March approved a request from the facilities division to hire 106 new employees to complete the promised construction and renovations within the next six years.