School Board Votes to Authorize Sales Tax Revenue Bonds

BRADENTON – The Manatee School Board voted at Tuesday’s meeting to authorize sales tax revenue bonds for up to $150 million, paving the way to borrow money in order to meet the fast-growing district’s plan of constructing three new schools in three years.

Prior to board discussion on the matter, community activist Glen Gibellina told the board that paying for the construction projects with bonds would be too costly in the long term. He referenced an article by an investigative reporting group on school districts using bonds to borrow millions at a time, and some of the pitfalls of doing so. "Voters are unaware of the bonds’ interest,“ said Gibellina, noting that taxpayers in 15-20 years would have to pay many more millions than the amount borrowed by the district.

Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene said that the district had been clear about having to bond, noting that the first line of the resolution regarding the sales tax referendum said so. "Because of the massive growth we’ve been experiencing,“ said Greene, "we are going to need a high school, a middle school and an elementary school in three years.“

District CFO Rebecca Roberts, who spoke after Greene, said that now is a prime opportunity to bond. "The best time to bond is when interest rates are still the lowest they’ve been in years,“ she said.

Public Financial Management's Jay Glover, whose company advises the board on debt-related matters, said, "While I agree this is a substantial amount of debt, it is well within the borrowing capacity of the district to take on this amount of debt. Legally (the sales tax) is very limited in what it can be used for, mostly construction.“