In good news for the district as it begins to recover its financial bearings, DPS successfully sold a first tranche of the $454 million in bonds approved by voters last fall.

The sale of about $150 million worth of bonds by Denver Public Schools ended Tuesday — the first round of sales to raise capital for a $454 million construction program the city’s voters approved in November. […]

The bonds were sold at a yield, or interest rate, “in the low 5 percent range,” Rodriguez said. “It was approximately what we were expecting.”

What’s not clear is how the bonds were structured – DPS (as with similar municipal entities) had previously held bonds that matured weekly; when the credit crises hit, the market for buyers dried up, forcing the district to pay a contracted, high-single-digit rate (which I expect it further negotiated).  While these new bonds have a final maturity date of 2029, it’s not clear if they mature weekly or not.

As others have noted, expect to see some stimulus funding coming Denver’s way as well. Which brings one to a startling paradox: this may soon be the best financial footing the district has been on in a generation. This is no small achievement, and is a great credit to the previous and existing DPS administration, and hopefully a precursor of future success in academic achievement.