School eyes $2.8M bond
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By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: June 8, 2009
BRATTLEBORO — The Austine School for the Deaf has received preliminary approval for a $2.8 million bond to make energy conservation upgrades to its campus.
The approval is part of more than $17 million in commercial and agricultural financing approved by the Vermont Economic Development Authority for June.
"We want to be good neighbors and be green like everyone else," said Bert Carter, president of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which operates 16 programs, the largest of which is the Austine School.
The school is home to 67 students, most of whom hail from Vermont, and the bond will be used to make upgrades to six buildings on campus. The most significant improvement will be the replacement of the out-of-date electric baseboard heating system in Vermont Hall, Carter said.
Other improvements will include lighting retrofits and insulation upgrades.
VEDA's Chief Executive Officer Jo Bradley said that with her organization's approval, the Austine School will be able to take out a bond exempt from federal and state taxes, which will make it attractive to investors.
Carter said the 20-year, tax-free bond will allow the school to borrow at a very low interest rate. Carter said the school does not yet know what that rate will be but said it will likely save the school "hundreds of thousands of dollars" over the life of the loan.
Other VEDA financing awards for June include:
$794,000 to assist Durasol Awnings to help them buy the 54,000-square-foot building they are leasing in Middlebury.
$3.6 million in farm ownership and operating loans through the Vermont Agricultural Credit Union.
$433,000 in direct loans to several Vermont businesses and manufacturers.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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