SANTA ANA : Investment Pool Settlement Plan OKd by School Board

Santa Ana Unified School District officials have approved a settlement plan for recovering the money the district had placed in the county’s failed investment pool.

The Board of Education this week unanimously approved an option that would restore about $44.3 million of the $49.2 million the district had invested.

The district’s annual budget is about $220 million, controller Bob Giritz said.

Under the plan, the district will waive its right to sue the county for any losses but will receive about 90% its investment in cash and recovery notes by June 5.

The remaining 10% would be converted to repayment claims, which may be paid over an undetermined period, said Gaylen Freemen, assistant superintendent of business services.

Trustee Robert W. Balen saw no real choice but to approve the plan. “I feel like I have a gun to my head,” he said.

Trustee Audrey Yamagata-Noji agreed, saying the district must recover as much money as possible as quickly as possible to keep out of bankruptcy. “The language of ‘options’ isn’t really reflective of what we have in front of us,” she said.