‘Build America’ Bonds Could Boost School Construction

Washington, April 29 — Build America Bonds — a new mechanism to raise capital for municipal projects — are being used to generate billions of dollars for school construction and public projects in California and other states, but it remains to be seen the extent to which the education sector will benefit from this and other loan-financing mechanisms passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

It didn’t take long after the government issued guidance on Build America Bonds (BABs) and other ARRA-funded bond programs, including Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs) and Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs), for state and local governments to start using them.