The Accelerated School

CHARTER SCHOOL IS IN DEFAULT ON $9.9 MILLION LAUSD LOAN, January 4, 2007, Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
A nationally recognized charter school in South Los Angeles has defaulted on a $9.9 million loan extended by the Los Angeles Unified School District using voter-approved bond funds, documents and interviews show.

The Accelerated School, an elaborate, high-tech campus where Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa delivered his State of the City address last spring, made a $200,000 payment about two weeks ago -- but only after district officials received a memo alerting them the campus was in default. The school previously had made two payments totaling about $1 million, the last in October 2005.

``They made a payment, but they're still way behind,'' school board member David Tokofsky said. ``Why we haven't foreclosed, I don't know.''

Michelle Meghrouni, the district's assistant general counsel, said Wednesday the loan is in default, and that district and Accelerated School officials are discussing a possible resolution, including renegotiating terms of the deal.

Meghrouni said she believes the loan, made in June 2004 using revenue from voter-approved school construction bonds, is the only one of its kind extended by LAUSD to a charter school.

Jonathan Williams, the founder and co-director of the school as well as a member of the State Board of Education, said campus officials are trying to work through the financial crisis...

NOTE: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reappointed Johnathan Williams, Accelerated School founder and co-director, to the California Board of Education in March 2007.

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