History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
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Authorities warn schools about mishandling construction bonds
- 06-17-2011
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By Corey G. Johnson/California Watch
California school districts are using construction bond money to cover day-to-day operations and in other ways that regulators say misuse taxpayer money and violate state and federal law. In recent weeks, the state attorney general's office and county treasurers have issued warning letters to school officials after seeing an uptick in unauthorized district bond deals that saddle communities with higher debt payments. Two audits at the Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista, for example, found the district borrowed and repaid $40 million from its construction bond money in the 2009-10 school year and is looking to borrow $58 million for the current school year. The fiscal watchdogs also are questioning some districts' practice of using general obligation bond funds – money generally raised for construction – to plug holes in their daily budgets. (more...)
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