Portland Public Schools (PPS) raised $508 million to fund projects approved three years ago by district voters with the sale of $441 million in bonds.
In 2017, voters in the PPS district agreed to spend $790 million to perform major renovations as well as expansions at Benson and Madison high schools and demolish and build a new Lincoln High School and a Kellogg Middle School. So far, the district has spent $153 million for work performed at each of the sites.
Replacing an old building with a new one is for some institutions viewed as an incentive to make other changes such as refreshing its Logo Design.
Of the original $790 million allotted, $349 million in bonds was sold in 2017 with the remainder, totaling $441 million, sold recently. The present economic situation proved favorable for the school district, which received bids totaling $67 million over the bonds’ face value making a total of $508 million.
According to district official the precipitous dip in interest rates prompted them to move forward with the selling of the remaining bonds. Sold at an interest rate of 1.88 percent, this final batch of bonds were almost a full point lower than those the district sold in 2017.
PPS will be using the $67 million windfall to help cover the overruns at Benson High School where the $202 million budgeted project has grown to almost $295 million.
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