State board approves loan for San Luis schools
By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
The Colorado Board of Education voted Thursday to loan $322,000 to the school district that serves the state's oldest community.
Leaders of the Centennial School District in San Luis mistakenly spent money the district expected to receive as a result of higher assessed property values last year.
San Luis officials also spent money on operating expenses that were supposed to pay off building bonds.
An additional accounting problem appears to have been carried forward since the 2006-07 school year.
The loan approved by the state board Thursday is in addition to $250,000 advanced to the district by the state treasurer recently. The loans, totaling $522,000, are equal to about 17 percent of the district's $3.4 million budget.
The resolution adopted by the state board directs Education Commissioner Dwight Jones to set conditions for the loan and terms of repayment.
Jones said earlier that training in financial management will be among the conditions.
San Luis is one of the poorest communities in the state. More than 70 percent of the district's 210 students are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch.
Jones said he would like to see a package that addresses the district's academic problems as well as the financial issues.
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