Portland district will use reserves to pay for critical repairs

The Portland (Ore.) school board has approved a proposal to borrow against its own reserves to begin repairing roofs and reducing crowding in some schools. The borrowed money will pay for $25 million in long-delayed maintenance projects. District officials say they can't put off the work any longer. The district plans to loan the money from the general fund reserve, which has about $38 million, to a new capital projects fund. The district will pay back the reserve, with interest, from proceeds of the construction excise tax, its regular revenue or a future bond issue.