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HomeEducation CodeCh. 1Art. 1§ 15106 School District Bond Limits

§ 15106 School District Bond Limits

Education Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 15106 School District Bond Limits

This law lets a school or community college district sell bonds, but the total amount can’t be more than 2.5% of the district’s taxable property value.

Key Takeaways

  • •Bonds issued by a district can’t exceed 2.5% of its taxable property value.
  • •When counting how much bond debt a district has, the money is treated as belonging to elementary, high school, and community‑college purposes in the amounts the board actually set aside.
  • •For very old bond applications (before Sept 15 1961), the district is treated as if it had the bonding limits for both an elementary and a high school district.
  • •The taxable property value is calculated using a formula that starts with the 1987‑88 assessed values and adjusts them to the latest county assessment.
  • •If two districts merge, their taxable property values are added together for the bond‑capacity calculation.

Example

A unified school district has a taxable property value of $100 million. It wants to raise money for a new high school and a community college building.

Because of the 2.5% cap, the district can sell up to $2.5 million in bonds. The money it gets is split between the high school and the community college based on how the school board decides to allocate the proceeds.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 15106 School District Bond Limits

A unified school district or community college district may issue bonds that, in aggregation with bonds issued pursuant to Section 15270, shall not exceed 2.5 percent of the taxable property of the school district or community college district, or the school facilities improvement district, if applicable, as shown by the last equalized assessment of the county or counties in which the district is located. In computing the outstanding bonded indebtedness of a unified school district or community college district for all purposes of this section, any outstanding bonds shall be deemed to have been issued for elementary school purposes, high school purposes, and community college purposes, respectively, in the respective amounts that the proceeds of the sale of those outstanding bonds, excluding any premium and accrued interest received on that sale, were or have been allocated by the governing board of the unified school district or community college district to each of those purposes respectively. (a) For the purposes of the State School Building Aid Law of 1952 (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16000)) with respect to applications for apportionments and apportionments filed or made prior to September 15, 1961, and to the repayment thereof, Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 15700), inclusive, only, a unified school district shall be considered to have a bonding capacity in the amount permitted by law for an elementary school district and a bonding capacity in the amount permitted by law for a high school district. (b) For purposes of this section, the taxable property of a district for a fiscal year shall be calculated to include, but not be limited to, the assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the district, which shall be derived by dividing the gross assessed value of the unitary and operating nonunitary property within the district for the 1987–88 fiscal year by the gross assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property within the county in which the district is located for the 1987–88 fiscal year, and multiplying the result by the gross assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the county on the last equalized assessment roll. In the event of the unification of two or more school districts or community college districts subsequent to the 1987–88 fiscal year, the assessed value of all unitary and operating nonunitary property of the unified district or community college district shall be deemed to be the total of the assessed value of the taxable property of each of the unifying districts as that assessed value would be determined under Section 15102. (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 670, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2008.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

communityschoolpropertypremiumportcapacityassessmentaid law

Related Statutes

  • § 15102 School Bond Tax Limits
  • § 5019.5 Trustee Area Redistricting Rules
  • § 51004 Workforce Preparation Education Rights
  • § 59001.4 Deaf Student Education Standards
  • § 59002.5 Deaf Education Support Services

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Education Code. Section 15106.
View Official Source