Upon unification, Twin Rivers Unified School District (TRUSD) became liable for all the outstanding bonded indebtedness of the former Grant, North Sacramento, Rio Linda, and Del Paso Heights districts (the districts that unified with the voter approval of Measure B in November 2007).

The names of the former school districts appear on tax bills because the debts (general obligation bonds) of the former districts still exist and exist in the name of the former districts. The names of the former districts indicated on tax bills correspond to the actual district names of the outstanding debt. 

When TRUSD was formed, the property taxpayers within the unified district became liable for a proportionate share of all the former districts' existing bond debts. This means taxpayers in any of the three former elementary school districts (North Sacramento, Rio Linda, and Del Paso Heights) that unified into TRUSD became liable for all three of the former elementary districts' bond debt and the former Grant Joint Union High School District debt. Therefore, a taxpayer that lives in the former North Sacramento School District will show bond debt not only for North Sacramento School District but also for Rio Linda, Del Paso Heights, and Grant Joint Union High (if any prior bond debts exist).  

TRUSD's geographical area encompasses the entire former Grant Joint Union High School District. However, only three (North Sacramento, Del Paso Heights, and Rio Linda) of the five elementary school districts geographically located in the TRUSD participated in the unification. The two other school districts (Robla and Elverta Joint Elementary) remain independent, although they are geographically within the TRUSD.  

Per the Attorney General's 12/20/2010 opinion: Education Code provides that a merged school district "is liable for all of the outstanding bonded indebtedness" previously incurred by its constituent former school districts and related statutory provisions. The taxing authorities are directed to reallocate and reapportion the burden of paying the former districts' cumulative outstanding bonded indebtedness by levying a tax supporting payment of that indebtedness upon all the taxable property within the boundaries of the merged district.  

Please contact Brittany Smith by email at Brittany.Smith@trusd.net or by phone at 916-566-1600 ext. 36254 should you have any questions.