Any school district governed by a board of education and having a population of not more than 500,000 inhabitants, and not governed by a special Act may borrow money for the purpose of building, equipping, altering or repairing school buildings or purchasing or improving school sites, or acquiring and equipping playgrounds, recreation grounds, athletic fields, and other buildings or land used or useful for school purposes or for the purpose of purchasing a site, with or without a building or buildings thereon, or for the building of a house or houses on such site, or for the building of a house or houses on the school site of the school district, for residential purposes of the superintendent, principal, or teachers of the school district, and issue its negotiable coupon bonds therefor signed by the president and secretary of the board, in denominations of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, payable at such place and at such time or times, not exceeding 20 years, with the exception of Lockport High School and bonds issued by any school district as qualified school construction bonds in accordance with applicable federal tax law not exceeding 25 years, from date of issuance, as the board of education may prescribe, and bearing interest at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate authorized by the Bond Authorization Act, as amended at the time of the making of the contract, payable annually, semiannually or quarterly, but no such bonds shall be issued unless the proposition to issue them is submitted to the voters of the district at a referendum held at a regularly scheduled election after the board has certified the proposition to the proper election authorities in accordance with the general election law, a majority of all the votes cast on the proposition is in favor of the proposition, and notice of such bond referendum has been given either (i) in accordance with the second paragraph of § 12-1 of the Election Code irrespective of whether such notice included any reference to the public question as it appeared on the ballot, or (ii) for an election held on or after November 1, 1998, in accordance with § 12-5 of the Election Code, or (iii) by publication of a true and legible copy of the specimen ballot label containing the proposition in the form in which it appeared or will appear on the official ballot label on the day of the election at least 5 days before the day of the election in at least one newspaper published in and having a general circulation in the district, irrespective of any other requirements of Article 12 or § 24A-18 of the Election Code, nor shall any residential site be acquired unless such proposition to acquire a site is submitted to the voters of the district at a referendum held at a regularly scheduled election after the board has certified the proposition to the proper election authorities in accordance with the general election law and a majority of all the votes cast on the proposition is in favor of the proposition. Nothing in this Act or in any other law shall be construed to require the notice of the bond referendum to be published over the name or title of the election authority or the listing of maturity dates of any bonds either in the notice of bond election or ballot used in the bond election. The provisions of this Section concerning notice of the bond referendum apply only to (i) consolidated primary elections held prior to January 1, 2002 and the consolidated election held on April 17, 2007 at which not less than 60% of the voters voting on the bond proposition voted in favor of the bond proposition, and (ii) other elections held before July 1, 1999; otherwise, notices required in connection with the submission of public questions shall be as set forth in § 12-5 of the Election Code. Such proposition may be initiated by resolution of the school board.
     With respect to instruments for the payment of money issued under this Section either before, on, or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989, it is and always has been the intention of the General Assembly (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are and always have been supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that instruments issued under this Section within the supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those Acts.
     The proceeds of any bonds issued under authority of this Section shall be deposited and accounted for separately within the Site and Construction/Capital Improvements Fund.