IRVINE : With Loan Offer, Schools Can Meet Bond Deadline

School district officials say an offer of a short-term “bridge” loan by the Irvine Ranch Water District guarantees the financially troubled Irvine Unified School District will meet a $54.5-million bond payment due June 13.

School board members will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday to work out the details of the loan if funds from the county’s promised recovery notes are not made available in time.

The Irvine Ranch Water District board has also agreed to provide short-term funding for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and the Orange County Department of Education.

Those three education agencies, along with the North Orange County Community College District, borrowed a total $200 million last June to make additional investments in the county pool. They are required to repay the debt by June 13, although Irvine Unified officials are negotiating with bondholders to extend the maturity of the debt.

The Irvine school district had $107 million on deposit in the investment pool when the county declared bankruptcy Dec. 6.

“We have enough options in place that we’re going to be OK,” school board member Michael B. Regele said. “But we’ve seen things move sideways before.”

School board President Tom Burnham said if the district needs to borrow funds from the water district, the loan would likely be repaid within 90 days.

“I feel that the crisis has passed in relation to the solvency of the district,” Burnham said. “We will be authorizing staff to take a variety of steps, depending on how circumstances play out in the final weeks. There are a number of different scenarios that could occur here, but we will meet our bond obligations.”