Detroit District Issues $210 Million in Capital Bonds

DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools issued more than $210 million in capital improvement bonds needed to move forward on a $500.5 million district-wide construction and renovation program.

 

The sale included $160.9 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds and $49.6 million in Build America Bonds, both of which were authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to reports.

 

The funds will support the district’s three-year capital improvement plan, which will close dozens of schools and consolidate other facilities in response to an enrollment loss of nearly 100,000 students since 1997. One renovation project has already been completed, and another nine are under way. Another eight projects are expected to start up this fall.

 

School projects currently under construction include a $20.5 million PreK-8 school in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, a $45.3 million replacement Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, and a $20.5 million PreK-8 school in the neighborhood of Clark Park, all of which are expected complete by next fall.

 

DPS Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb stated that funds from the recent bond sales will be available Oct. 28 and spent over three years. The district, which saw a greater than expected increase in its enrollment this year, faces a deficit of $363 million for fiscal year 2011 with a budget of $1.025 billion, according to sources.