Board authorizes submission of Measure BB waiver so district can issue final $15.4M series sooner
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Summary
Piper Sandler and California Financial Services told the Bassett Unified board that the district has issued roughly $34M of a $50M authorization under Measure BB and asked permission to seek a temporary waiver raising the statutory bonding cap from 2.50% to 2.74% to allow issuance of the remaining ~$15.4M; the board approved the waiver request as part of a mass resolution.
The Bassett Unified School District voted Jan. 27 to authorize submission of a state waiver request so the district can access the remaining authorization under Measure BB and accelerate issuing the final bond series.
Financial advisors from Piper Sandler (Helena de la Rosa and Kristin) and municipal advisor California Financial Services (Steve Gauld) presented an overview of bond activity to date: approximately $34 million of the district’s $50 million authorization has been issued, leaving about $15.4 million unissued. Under state law the district’s statutory bonding capacity is 2.5% of assessed value; using the district’s assessed value of roughly $3.4 billion, that cap yields about $85 million of capacity. After subtracting the district’s outstanding bonds (approximately $78M), that leaves about $7.3M of capacity without a waiver. Presenters said the board may seek a short-term waiver to raise the statutory limit to 2.74% so the district can legally issue the remaining $15.4 million sooner than it would if it waited for the principal on older bonds to amortize.
Advisors emphasized two legal guardrails: the waiver would not change voter authorization of Measure BB or the statutory local tax-rate ceiling ($60 per $100,000 of assessed value), and the state’s review focuses on whether the numbers and need are valid. The advisors said many districts make similar, limited waiver requests and that denials are rare. Steve Gauld said accelerating issuance could bring projects into service ‘‘a year to a year and a half’’ sooner and help insulate the district from construction cost escalation.
Board discussion and vote Trustees asked detailed questions about outstanding debt totals, how ratings and interest rates might be affected, and the timetable for market issuance; advisors said the district’s rating drivers are largely structural but that markets vary and final interest rates are unknown until issuance. The necessary public hearing for a waiver application was opened and closed at the meeting (no speakers during the hearing). The board then approved the packet of resolutions in mass (including the waiver-request authorization) on a 5–0 roll-call vote.
What follows Staff will submit the waiver application to the California Board of Education, which will review the documents and, if staff supports it, agendize it for a state-board meeting (advisors said March was a potential target). If the waiver is granted, the district will return to the board later to request formal authorization to sell the bonds and proceed with issuance. The board’s initial action at this meeting was to approve submitting the waiver application and related documents to state staff.
Key figures - Measure BB authorization: $50,000,000 (authorized by voters in prior measure). - Issued to date: about $34,000,000. - Remaining authorization to be accessed: approximately $15,400,000. - Local tax-rate cap (legal maximum): $60 per $100,000 assessed value. - Recent tax rate cited: $51.54 per $100,000 (FY 2025–26 figure in presentation).