Typical socialist economics - spend, spend, spend - oops - out of money! Borrow, borrow, borrow. From Illinois Policy:
CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PAY $850 MILLION IN INTEREST ON $500 MILLION LOAN
In July, Chicago Public Schools borrowed $500 million in long-term, high-interest loans. These loans, taken out at interest rates between 7.25-7.65 percent, will cost the district more than $850 million in interest costs alone for a total cost of $1.35 billion, according to a Chicago Tribune analysis.
CPS will pay off the loans over 25 years, paying roughly $35 million a year in interest. Adjusted for inflation, the total value of the interest on the loan is roughly $405 million.
As the Tribune notes, by the time the loan is paid off, CPS students entering kindergarten this fall will be in their mid-30s.
The district plans to use $229 million from the $500 million loan to recoup losses on bonds from previous years. The district will also reimburse itself $31 million in capital expenses from past years, the Tribune explains. This tactic of using new loans to pay off old debts is known as “scoop and toss,” a method of covering deficits used by various city bodies.
No one person is accountable - the blame can be shifted to some unelected committee whose members rotate in and out of office so nobody is in the cross-hairs. This graph from the CATO Institute is worth reposting - and yes, it is adjusted for inflation:
It comes from page two of this PDF report: State Education Trends - Academic Performance and Spending over the Past 40 Years
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