Coronado Unified approves lease‑purchase financing to bridge budget shortfall

The Coronado Unified School district board approved Business Services Resolution 25‑08‑02, authorizing site lease and lease‑purchase financing to address a near‑term budget shortfall and refinance older debt.

Deputy Superintendent Drew Salamanca told the board the financing is intended as a short‑term bridge while the district transitions to a “basic aid” revenue structure. “To put it plainly, at least purchase financing is essentially loan,” Salamanca said, describing taxable and tax‑exempt options the district reviewed.

Salamanca presented two primary structures the district considered. For a taxable option he described a roughly $1,000,000 loan and said, “If we were to keep the loan alive, dollars 1,000,000 would cost us 1,150,000.00 if we pay it off in 2027.…