As state defers payments, some school districts take out loans
The Natomas Unified School District paid $300,000 in interest this school year – enough to have saved three counselors from being laid off – on a $12 million loan to keep its lights on and staff paid.
It took out the loan because the state of California has failed to send money in a timely fashion, deferring payments to the school district until the state can come up with the money it owes Natomas Unified for operations for the current school year.
The state in general sends fewer dollars to California schools these days – a total of $18 billion less over the last two years. And much of the money districts do receive is coming late – sometimes as much as five months after the payments originally were scheduled.
Instead, when the due date comes for state payments, districts are getting only a percentage of what they are owed. For example, $2 billion of the amount that the state was supposed to send public schools in February won't show up until July. An additional $1.7 billion due in April and May will show up in August. The bulk of the June payment has been pushed off until July, the beginning of the 2010-11 fiscal year.
"What happened with the state over the years is they've started a habit of borrowing from the next year and they've imposed that on school
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