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Jackson County Board approves giving $7.4 million in bonds to Jackson Public Schools

By Holly Klaft
Jackson Citizen Patriot
March 17, 2010

Jackson Public Schools will be the first to take advantage of low-interest federal bonds available to public entities in Jackson County.

The county Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved giving JPS $7.4 million in economic development bonds for planned renovations to school buildings and grounds.

The county had $11.5 million available in economic development bonds through the Recovery Zone Bond Program — a part of the federal stimulus plan. Those bonds are intended to help public entities, such as schools or governments, pay for improvement projects.

About $17.2 million in tax-exempt Recovery Zone Facility bonds also are available to private businesses for projects that could create jobs.

The bonds must be issued by the end of the year.

Bill Hannon, deputy superintendent for finance and operations at JPS, said using the low-interest bonds will result in a lower cost to taxpayers, who in November 2009 approved a $16.6 million bond proposal for renovations in the district.

JPS is still waiting to hear whether it was awarded as much as $15 million in Qualified School Construction bonds — another federal stimulus program that could reduce the cost to taxpayers, Hannon said.

If the district is awarded the $15 million in bonds, it will return the economic development bond money it doesn’t need to the county, he said.

The bond money must be paid back once it is used, but the program is a good tool for development, said Scott Fleming, CEO of The Enterprise Group, the county’s economic-development agency. JPS officials contacted the Economic Development Corp. of Jackson County — an arm of county government that is run by The Enterprise Group — to express interest in obtaining the bonds.

Renovation projects planned for JPS include: replacing roofs, improving classroom ventilation, building a fitness center and upgrading athletic fields. The district also plans to buy new buses, classroom projectors, computers and video-conferencing equipment.

The board in August approved designating the entire county as a Recovery Zone to make all local businesses and public entities eligible for financing through the program.

The entire county qualified as a Recovery Zone — typically considered an area with significant poverty, unemployment and home foreclosure rates — because of the state of the local economy.

County Commissioner Jon Williams said it made sense for the board to allocate the bonds to JPS.

“The savings could be passed on to the citizens,” Williams said.