After three joint sessions of the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education and the Alamance County Board of Commissioners trying to solve the growing mold problems across the school district to get
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Alamance County commissioners agree local schools have serious needs, but are particular about from which pots of money schools spend.
“I don’t want us to be a roadblock to what the school board needs,” said Alamance County Commissioner Steve Carter. “The only issue for me is how do we pay for it and making sure the way we pay for it is the most efficient for our taxpayers.”
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The commissioners approved letting the Alamance-Burlington School System use nearly $4.8 million from its capital reserves for a set of projects like a roof replacement and a vocational building for the new high school. The school board had asked to use $9.6 million to fix three other roofs, make repairs at other schools and make up for the higher-than-expected cost of building a school.
Premiums, as Commissioner Bill Lashley said several times, are not free money. They have to be paid back. But, when Commissioner Steve Carter called them interest-free money, Lashley, who has a background in finance, said “pretty much.”
It’s a little complicated. Voters approved just $189.6 million in borrowing, but that vote also approved paying interest. Interest rates vary, so their cost won’t be known until they are locked in.
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The county projected a 5% interest rate when calculating how much it would be paying on those bonds. But unless something very surprising happens, when ABSS issues its bonds April 20, the rate will be much lower than 5%. The peculiarities of the municipal bond market mean investors can bid more than the face value of those bonds, which could potentially bid up their value by $20 million or more. That would mean the county could borrow $174 million instead of $150 million and ac