COLUMBUS, Ohio — Outstanding debt among Ohio’s 13 four-year public universities has nearly tripled over the past decade amid a building spree on classroom buildings, dormitories and recreation centers.
At Ohio State University, which has built a recreation center and student union, debt has more than quadrupled.
Of the state’s 13 public universities, Ohio State has the largest total debt load at nearly $2.5 billion, more than four times what it was in 2002.
But according to The Columbus Dispatch (bit.ly/Tuxnd4), campuses must find new money sources, or leave it to future generations of students to pay for the construction spree.
Last month, Moody’s Investment Services downgraded the outlook for the higher-education sector to negative because of such concerns.
Jim Petro, who retired on Friday as Ohio’s higher-education chancellor, said he understands that state schools have been burdened by aging buildings in need of repair.
Many school officials said it would be crazy not to lock in record-low interest rates. Ohio State, for instance, issued an unprecedented $500 million in 100-year bonds in 2011.
