LOAN FROM CALIFORNIA AVERTS BANKRUPTCY FOR INGLEWOOD UNIFIED

Actually, bankruptcy was never an option. In California insolvent school districts are bailed out by emergency state loans – and the administration of the school district goes to an appointed receiver. The receiver has extraordinary authority – including that of setting aside provisions of union contacts. In this instance the teachers union in Inglewood has been advocating state takeover for a while.  Once the loan and interest is paid back the school district returns to local authority.

By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC | Pass / Fail  | http://bit.ly/RQOIfe

14 September 2012  4:14 PM  ::  The Inglewood Unified School District today became the first Southland school district in nearly 20 years to lose local control over its ballooning budget deficit.

Governor Jerry Brown today approved an emergency loan of $55 million to the Inglewood district to keep it from going bankrupt. The move triggers an immediate takeover of the school district’s administration, said Inglewood-area State Senator Rod Wright.

“We will have a quality education for the city of Inglewood and the Inglewood Unified School District, that is our goal, that we will achieve by any means necessary. And if it required having a state takeover that is what we had to do,” Wright said.

Inglewood Unified’s elected school board and its superintendent will lose their decisionmaking authority. California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction will appoint an overseer who will assume the their responsibilities. Inglewood Unified’s board had taken budget cutting measures in recent months that members said could help them prevent bankruptcy.

Wright said a combination of the bad economy, budget cuts from Sacramento, and poor budget decisions by the board led to the school district’s situation.