School Board Approves Bond Issue

Charleston County School Board members voted 8-1 to approve issuing as much as $72 million in two sets of general obligation bonds to help fund the district's building and renovation plans. Board member Elizabeth Moffly voted against the bonds.

The bonds, which will be sold in two issues, one for no more than $62 million and a second for no more than $10 million, are necessary to ensure the district has the necessary cash on hand to continue funding ongoing projects. Other funding for the projects comes from the 1 percent sales tax voters approved in a referendum last November.

That tax will last six years. So far the district has collected more than $30 million in revenue from the tax, according to Michael Bobby, Chief Financial Officer for the Charleston County School District. That amount is approximately $2 million less than the district had expected to collect by this time according to projections.

Bobby told board members he expected the district could anticipate interest charged on the bonds to be less than .5 percent based on current economic conditions, but the exact amount of interest will depend on when the bonds are issued and how low those bidding on the bonds are willing to go. He said the currently low interest rates available was one factor in the district staff encouraging the bond issue now.

In her dissent Moffly said she worried about the district's priorities.

"I know we have a 6-year sales tax," Moffly said. "But that doesn't mean we have to build everything in six years."