US School Districts Rush to Sell Bonds After Draining Covid Cash

The pandemic-era pause on borrowing is over. Public schools are flooding the municipal-bond market to fund long-delayed upgrades as federal aid runs out and enrollment pressures mount.

Bond issuance from school districts has reached nearly $45 billion so far this year, up more than 35% from the same period in 2024, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. That’s greater than the roughly 20% jump in bond sales overall in the muni market.

There’s a sense among muni analysts that most districts are, for now, in healthy enough financial shape to absorb the jump in debt levels. Yet the bond rush still ...