Governor Ivey Announces Final Recipients of Public School and College Authority Bond

MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Friday announced the remaining $23,522,354.17 of the Public School and College Authority (PSCA) bond issue to five entities around the state.

“I’m pleased to announce the more than $23.5 million to worthy infrastructural projects and upgrades to our educational facilities,” Governor Ivey said. “These remaining PSCA funds will make needed improvements to our public educational facilities, which will have a lasting impact on future generations of Alabamians. I am extremely grateful to Alabama’s retiring Finance Director Kelly Butler for his diligence on this project to ensure we are investing wisely in meaningful education and workforce efforts.”

“There is no question these dollars will provide a positive return on investment to the citizens of Alabama,” Kelly Butler said. “Despite the challenges of the last year, Governor Ivey and the members of the Alabama Legislature displayed great leadership by pursuing this important and meaningful initiative to transform our educational institutions.”

The PSCA projects announced today are as follows:

University of Alabama                                                                   16,500,000.00

The Smart Communities & Innovation Building will provide the critical research infrastructure for the transportation industry in Alabama. This investment will position our state to be a national leader in innovation relating to mobility and be able to power and connect smart and resilient communities. This project will facilitate a public-private-partnership between the state, The University of Alabama, Alabama Power Company, and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International with the likelihood of additional partnerships in the near future.

Snead State Community College                                                     4,000,000.00

This investment will help establish a regional workforce training center in Marshall County.

Talladega County Schools                                                                1,750,000.00

This investment will create the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub.

Alabama A&M University                                                                  508,754.17

This investment will be applied toward various capital improvement and deferred maintenance projects.

Alabama State University                                                                  763,600.00

The Southern Normal School in Brewton (Escambia County) is the oldest African-American boarding school in Alabama. This investment will provide immediate improvements to seven buildings on the campus.

During the 2020 State of the State, Governor Ivey announced her support of SB 242, the PSCA Bond Issue for public schools to use toward construction, safety improvement or technology upgrades. The PSCA is comprised of Governor Kay Ivey, State Finance Director Kelly Butler and Alabama Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey.

SB 242 authorized the PSCA to sell up to $1,250,000,000 in bonds and allocated money to every city and county K-12 school system and to higher education institutions. The money was divided with 73% going to K-12 schools and 27% going to two-and four-year colleges.

Because of very low interest rates, the bond sale resulted in the PSCA receiving over $300 million in premium revenues. The true interest cost of the bonds is 2.145% over the 20-year repayment period.

A previous list of 20 projects funded from premium revenue of the PSCA bond can be found here.

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