Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) Awards 2009

Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) are zero interest bonds awarded to school districts for the construction or renovation of school facilities or for the acquisition of land upon which a school is to be built. Under this program, the IRS gives tax credits to the lending institution to offset the interest that would normally be charged to the school district. New Hampshire's allocation for 2009 is $29,784,000. The QSCB Program was authorized under Title I of Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The School Building Authority met on May 21, 2009 to review and prioritize applications for the 2009 allocation of QSCB.

Eight applications were received. Each district gave a ten minute presentation on their projects to the Building Authority. All eight submitted very worthwhile projects.

The Building Authority scored the projects according to the following criteria

• Presentation of the need for the project 20%
• Community need 50%
• Correction of safety issues 20%
• Energy efficiency improvements 10%

Community need was measured using median family income and equalized valuation per pupil in accordance with the alternate formula for School Building Aid established in RSA 198:15-v.

The Building Authority recommended that the following allocations be awarded

• Somersworth $19,930,790
• Winnisquam $ 3,550,000
• Concord $ 3,680,000
• Pembroke $ 2,623,210*

*Pembroke's request was for $3,600,000

The Commissioner of Education approved the Building Authority's recommendations on May 22, 2009.

The State will receive an additional allocation for QSCBs in 2010.