Maricopa Unified board approves up to $43M in school improvement bonds; underwriter outlines tax impact

The Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board voted unanimously to authorize the issuance and sale of school improvement bonds not to exceed $43,000,000, a measure officials said will fund multiple construction projects and aim to keep the district's bond tax rate near $0.79 per $100 of assessed value.

The action followed a presentation by Mike LaValle of Stifel Public Finance, who reviewed the district's assessed-value growth, bonding capacity and projected interest costs. LaValle told the board the district received February property-value estimates showing roughly 9.6% year-over-year growth in the net limited assessed value and said the district's 10-year average growth for that measure is about 8.46%.

"Our goal is to try to maintain the property tax rate around $0.79," LaValle said, adding that the district's voter-authorized bond limit remains $70,000,000 and that current bonding-capacity estimates are substantially higher than that. He estimated the principal amount for…