West Covina : Schools Seek $3 Million

Faced with possible bureaucratic and legislative roadblocks, the West Covina Unified School Board has asked state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) to sponsor special legislation to get more than $3 million in funds for the next school year.

School officials had sought a waiver from the state Allocations Board to use money from the sale of two closed schools to help the financially strapped district make roof repairs and flesh out its lean budget. Under state law, proceeds from the sales of schools must be used to retire school construction or other capital improvement debts.

The allocations board declined to act after a consultant said the board could not grant the waiver because the schools were built with a state loan and not with general obligation bonds. But last week, the board said it would reconsider the district’s request at its June 22 meeting.

Campbell has said he would carry the legislation if the Allocations Board did not act, but he has also pressured the board to reconsider its earlier decision, district officials said.

The district must make a $1-million payment this year on a $3.3-million loan from the state that saved the district from bankruptcy last year.