It's no secret schools get hit hard during lean budget years.
In order to compensate, some 200 districts in California are borrowing billions of dollars in bonds, that will end up costing up to 20-times the original loan.
And, some of those districts are in Kern County.
They're called Capital Appreciation Bonds or CABS.
They allow districts to pay back the loan over a period of up to 40 years. But, with an exorbitant interest rate.
Last year, the Fairfax School District in Bakersfield took out a $1 million CABS loan. By the final maturity date in 2048, the district will have to pay back $15.6 million.
While it may sound like a bad deal, Superintendent Michael Coleman says the district and the taxpayers actually benefit.
Coleman says the district sold $6 million in bonds, with $1 million of it under the CABS program.
The district used that $1 million to qualify for a state building program. That program brought Fairfax $17 million the district desperately needs to build a new school and update two 60-year-old schools.
"What this basically did was bring $17 million from the state and it allowed my voters, my property owners in my district, to actually pay. We brought more money from outside our district into our district this way," said Coleman.
The Richland School District in Shafter took out a nearly $7 million CABS loan three years ago. And, according to the Los Angeles Times, it will cost more than $52 million when it matures.
Superintendent Ken Bergevin tells 17 News the money was used to modernize Redwood Elementary School.
Both he and Coleman blame the state for not providing adequate school funding, which, they say, forces the districts to find other sources of revenue to make sure students are getting the best education possible.
