§ 19-31

Any school district which, pursuant to Section 10-22.31b of this Act, or under the provisions of the "Intergovernmental Cooperation Act", has entered into a joint agreement or contract with one or more school districts to acquire, build, establish and maintain sites and buildings for the education of one or more of the types of children with disabilities as defined in Sections 14-1.02 through 14-1.07 of this Act, may by proper resolution of the board borrow money for the purpose of acquiring sites and buildings and building, equipping, improving and remodeling buildings and sites for such special education purposes, and as evidence of such indebtedness issue bonds, provided that the project which is the subject of such joint agreement has been approved by the State Board of Education. The proceeds of the sale of such bonds may, in the discretion of the school board of the district issuing such bonds, be transferred to the Capital Development Board, any other school district which is a party to such joint agreement, or the State or any of its agencies provided, however, that such board first determines that such transfer is necessary in order to accomplish the purposes for which such bonds are issued. The amount of the bonds issued by any such participating school district shall not exceed the district's estimated proportionate share of the cost of such special education purposes as budgeted under such joint agreement or contract, and shall be amortized over a period not exceeding the number of years of levy remaining available to such participating school district under Section 17-2.2a of this Act, and provided further that any such participating district shall thereafter reduce the maximum statutory amount which may be raised by the tax levy authorized under Section 17-2.2a of this Act to the extent of the total amount to be yielded by the imposition of the tax authorized by this Section. The failure on the part of a school district to abate or reduce such taxes shall not however constitute a forfeiture by the district of its right to levy the direct annual tax authorized by this Section. Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate of not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, and shall mature within 8 years from the date of issuance. In order to authorize and issue such bonds, the school board shall adopt a resolution fixing the amount of the bonds, the date thereof, maturities thereof, rates of interest thereof, place of payment and denomination, which shall be in denominations of not less than $100 and not more than $5,000 and provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual tax upon all the taxable property in the school district sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on such bonds to maturity, but not to exceed the levy authorized under Section 17-2.2a. Upon the filing in the office of the County Clerk or Clerks of the County or Counties in which the school district is located of a certified copy of such resolution it shall be the duty of such County Clerk or Clerks to extend the tax therefor, in addition to and in excess of all other taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized to be levied by such school district. This Section shall be cumulative and it shall constitute complete authority for site acquisitions and building programs and for the issuance of bonds as provided for hereunder, notwithstanding any other statute or law to the contrary. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section, any school district qualifying for a special education construction grant pursuant to the Capital Development Board Act may finance the construction project by levying the tax authorized by Section 17-2.2a and issuing bonds in the manner provided for in this Section at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, with a maturity date not more than 20 years from the date of issuance. With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95.)