Wilson Signs Bill to Repay 2 School Districts

Gov. Pete Wilson signed into law late Wednesday a bill written by an Irvine lawmaker that will return $3 million to two school districts that were hard hit by the 1994 county bankruptcy.

Under SB 421, written by state Sen. Ross Johnson (R-Irvine), Newport-Mesa Unified will receive $1.65 million and the South Orange County Community District will gain $1.3 million.

“These monies clearly belong to the districts, but were caught in the county’s bankruptcy,” Johnson said.

At the time of the bankruptcy in December 1994, both school systems relied on property tax revenue for funding.

But those local dollars were lost with the collapse of the county’s $1.64-billion investment pool.

Even when the state helped the county recover, money was returned only to school districts that relied on attendance-based state funds, otherwise known as revenue-limit districts.

Both Newport-Mesa and the South Orange County Community College District were excluded from this reimbursement.

Since then, both have become revenue-limit districts, making them eligible for the state reimbursement.

“We needed special legislation to recover the money,” Newport-Mesa Unified Supt. Mac Bernd said.

“This is money we will probably apply to maintenance, to construction, to textbooks and equipment. It will be very useful and make an impact on the lives of our students.”