New school bond fees draw fire

For nearly a decade, Idaho has offered to guarantee bonds issued by its local school districts to win them a better interest rate, save local property taxpayers a few dollars and make the bonds easier to pass. Now, the state Endowment Board has decided to start charging fees to school districts that participate in the program - up to $1,000 for an application fee, plus up to 5 basis points, which adds up to about $15,000 for a typical $20 million bond issue. State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna is vehemently opposed to the new fees, and says he’ll fight to reverse them in the upcoming 2010 legislative session; you can read my full story here at spokesman.com.