Jim Steinberg,Staff Writer
Posted: 10/03/2012 10:15:43 PM PDT
FONTANA – School board members on Wednesday night defended their decision to issue a controversial class of bonds to stave off a likely state takeover.
The action had come under fire from San Bernardino County Treasurer/Tax Collector Larry Walker who said the structure of the borrowing “represents a generational transfer of debt created by a financing mistake, and is clearly not in the interest of the taxpayers.”
Separately from Walker, Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Josie Gonzales and 2nd District Supervisor Janice Rutherford joined in the opposition.
Fontana Unified school board member Gus Hawthorn called Walker’s and the two supervisors’ remarks “far from the realism of what goes on in a school district.”
He also said it was “easy to second guess” difficult decisions.
“Far too much of public education is political,” he said.
Next week, the district will sell $108 million in capital appreciation bonds to pay off principal and interest from a short-term “bridge” loan it took out in 2009 to complete several construction projects, including Jurupa Hills High School and Citrus High School.
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The Capital Appreciation Bonds issued by the San Bernardino Commmunity College dist generated $78 million for the dist, but will take $578 million to pay back. See Point of View by the dist chancellor in SBSun on 9/28. That’s 7.5 times the principal amount. The LA County Auditor only approves 3 times the principal. If you were to get home loan, you’d pay no more than 2 1/2 time the principal. The bonds are too risky.
Visit VoteJohnWurm.org for more info on my campaign for the San Bernardino Community College dist
Before they “fire back,” Fontana Unified School Board members should explain what they did with all the school fee money they collected during the housing boom.
This money is in addition to the traditional sources of revenue that school districts operated on before the advent of builder’s school fees, so it seems to me like it is a windfall.
Perhaps there is a good explanation, but I have made this same comment in response to a number of school districts current financial problems, and no one has responded. This suggests to me that there isn’t any explanation, much less a good one.
The school district is idiotic for putting this burden on tax payers. They are solving a short term problem by creating a MUCH BIGGER long term one. How about we better manage our money and watch our finances. On behalf of the tax payers, THANKS.
Apparently you all have no idea what is going on in Fontana!! The board is too busy fighting with each other and trying to fire the superintendent that they have no idea how the money is being spent. Just listen to the board meetings…they don’t ever mention student achievement. This board is a joke of jokes!
OMG…I was just at one of the board meetings. It was hilarious! The fat Mexican chick hates the superintendent. Her comments are ridiculous, and she says them out loud