Report Reveals 'Deeper Consequences' for L-Way District's Misuse of Bond Funds

A Daily Southtown analysis of Lincoln-Way High School District 210 funds revealed deeper consequences Thursday for the school district's admitted inappropriate use of millions of dollars in bond funds.

District officials acknowledged their role in April amidst scrutiny of the 2008 through 2012 financial debacle. It involved inflated district reserves due to transferring $15 million from its construction bonds to its operating funds.

"The cash-strapped school district's misuse of bond funds during that time propped up Lincoln-Way's finances and kept the district from hitting a key threshold that would've required officials to create a deficit reduction plan in 2012, which some say could have prevented the district from falling into its current dire straits," the article indicates.

The district remains on the state's financial watch list.

"Even with inappropriate bond expenditures, Lincoln-Way's finances atrophied in subsequent years, records show," said the Daily Southtown story. "In 2009, Lincoln-Way had more than $26 million in operating reserves, but by June 2015 the school district had roughly $2.8 million on hand in operating reserves, state records show."

Read the full Daily Southtown report for all the details.