Buena Vista School District Officially Dissolved
BUENA VISTA TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A financially struggling Saginaw-area school district has been dissolved, forcing its nearly 400 students to transfer to neighboring districts.
The Saginaw Intermediate School District board voted Tuesday to close the Buena Vista School District, splitting it among the Saginaw, Bridgeport-Spaulding and Frankenmuth districts.
The action follows last Thursday's elimination of the 2,200-student Inkster Public Schools, which faced similar problems.
The state announced July 22 that the Buena Vista and Inkster districts missed a deadline to refinance and would be dissolved. Buena Vista has a $3.7 million deficit and a $2 million loan due to the state treasury in 2014, Mlive.com reported.
The change comes after the city missed a July 22 deadline, set by state Treasurer Andy Dillon and state Schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan, to secure new loans to finance operations.
A new law signed by Gov. Rick Snyder earlier this month lays the groundwork for struggling school districts to be closed and for their students to be sent to schools nearby.
The measure lets the state's school superintendent and treasurer dissolve a district under certain circumstances, including if it doesn't submit a deficit-elimination plan or submits one but lacks the ability to implement it.
Other prerequisites include a finding that the district isn't financially viable, has 300 to 2,400 students (exempting larger districts) and loses at least 10 percent of its enrollment from the previous school year.
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