Schools Deserve Full Repayment From County

The Orange County Board of Supervisors payout proposal falls far short of returning to our schools 100% of the funds they deposited with the county. Local school districts, by law, were required to use the county as a depository. Therefore, the county should return to the school districts all capital held by them “in trust.”

The payout proposal asks the schools to accept 13% of their funds in 15-year notes and another 10% in IOUs from a bankrupt institution. Furthermore, it is highly possible that the 15-year notes must be discounted to be sold, and the IOUs may never be collected. This could leave our school districts with less than 90 cents on the dollar. This solution is unacceptable. Try again, supervisors!

BOB DeBRITTON, Huntington Beach

*

Dr. John F. Dean’s comment (Jan. 15), “our county’s quality of life is a direct result of the quality of education we provide,” was right on the money. Our community colleges, along with K-12 schools, are innocent victims in the bankruptcy crisis. These colleges provide the training for county firefighters, law enforcement officers, health care professionals and preschool teachers, to name a few. Can you imagine what will happen to our communities if these colleges are forced to discontinue these programs, or even worse, close their doors to thousands of county citizens?

When the quality of public education is negatively impacted by irresponsible county investments, the quality of our local communities diminishes as well. Our property values will be devastated and business willingness to remain or relocate to Orange County will ultimately plummet! As a result, the county is legally and morally obligated to return 100% of the principal schools and colleges were mandated to invest.

MIKE HAIRSTON, President, Board of Directors, Rancho Santiago College Foundation, Santa Ana