The Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees voted 7-0 to approve an order authorizing the issuance and sale of new unlimited-tax school building bonds and to delegate final pricing authority to district officials under specified parameters.

Financial adviser Jeff Robert of Hilltop Securities told the board the authorization is designed to let the district sell up to $225 million in bonds and close the sale before a Sept. 1 deadline so the district qualifies for a state "hold harmless" provision in Senate Bill 4. That provision compensates issuers for the effect of a larger homestead exemption the law increases, Robert said, and Hilltop estimates the hold-harmless subsidy would cover about 5.5% of payments on bonds sold before Sept. 1 — roughly $26 million on the $225 million scenario.

The order delegates to the superintendent and CFO the authority to approve final pricing only if the sale meets board-set parameters, including a maximum interest rate (the order used a ceiling of 6 percent as a conservative cap), a 30-year maximum maturity, and an authorization amount not exceeding $225 million.

Why it matters: Senate Bill 4 raises the mandatory homestead exemption; bonds that close prior to Sept. 1 receive state assistance to offset the tax-base reduction. Board members and advisers said maximizing issuance before that deadline would reduce the amount local taxpayers would otherwise shoulder.

Key details and timeline: Hilltop priced the scenario assuming a 30-year structure at about a 4.9% interest rate in current markets. Officials proposed pricing in early July with a planned close in August. The order uses a 365-day parameter authorization window but requires the pricing officers to meet the parameters before proceeding.

Board action: The board voted to approve the parameter bond order, the delegation to designated pricing officers (superintendent and CFO), and the other provisions as presented. Trustees said they expect staff to return with details of the final sale and debt-service schedule once pricing is complete.