Minutes 08/23/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

August 23, 2016 (3) A requirement that the eligible local education agency specify the type and quality of contributions from private entities acceptable to be counted as “qualified contributions” for purposes of the private business contribution requirement; and WHEREAS, for purposes of this resolution: The term “qualified purpose” means, with respect to any qualified zone academy, (i) rehabilitating or repairing the public school facility in which the academy is established, and (ii) providing equipment for use at such academy. The term “qualified zone academy” means any public school (or academic program within a public school) that is established by and operated under the supervision of an eligible local education agency to provide education or training below the post- secondary level if: (i) such public school or program (as the case may be) is designed in cooperation with business to enhance the academic curriculum, increase graduation and employment rates, and better prepare students for the rigors of college and the increasingly complex workforce; (ii) students in such public school or program (as the case may be) will be subject to the same academic standards and assessments as other students educated by the eligible local education agency; (iii) the comprehensive education plan of such public school or program is approved by the eligible local education agency; and (iv) such public school is located in an empowerment zone or enterprise community or a certain percentage of the students attending such school or participating in such program (as the case may be) will be eligible for free or reduced- costs lunches under the school lunch program established under the National School Lunch Act. The term “eligible local education agency” means any local education agency as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and legal counsel has advised that the Portsmouth School Board (the “School Board”) is the eligible local education agency for the City; and WHEREAS, the private business contribution requirement is met with respect to any issue of QZABs if the eligible local education agency that established the qualified zone academy has written commitments from private entities to make qualified contributions having present value (as of the date of issuance of the issue) of not less than 10 percent of the proceeds of the issue; and WHEREAS, the General Assembly of Virginia has appointed the Virginia Secretary of Education (the “Secretary”) to make allocations of Virginia’s QZAB issuing capacity and has directed the Secretary to give priority to allocations requests from certain Virginia public schools; and WHEREAS, based on correspondence from the Secretary to the Superintendent of Portsmouth Public Schools, up to $6,143,000 of Virginia's QZAB issuing capacity is available for QZABs to be issued by or for the benefit of the City and the School Board by no later than December 31, 2016, to finance qualified purposes at some or all of the school facilities housing the Portsmouth QZA (as defined below); and WHEREAS, by a resolution adopted on October 18, 2001 (the "2001 QZA Resolution"), the School Board established as the "Portsmouth QZA" the K-12 program conducted in the schools listed on an attachment to the 2001 QZA Resolution and the City issued QZABs later in 2001 to finance qualified purposes in certain of the schools in the Portsmouth QZA; and WHEREAS, the School Board has by resolution adopted August 6, 2016 (the “School Board Resolution”), determined that the QZAB program continues to present a unique opportunity to secure low-cost financing for certain public schools in Portsmouth and that it is advisable (i) to request the Council of the City of Portsmouth, Virginia (the "Council") to incur debt and to issue general obligation QZABs in an amount not in excess of $6,143,000 either through the City or the Virginia Public School Authority ("VPSA"), and (ii) to take such actions as may be necessary or desirable to or for the issuance of valid QZABs under Sections 54A and 54E of the Tax Code and Virginia law; and