At James Monroe Middle School, located in a remote part of California’s High Desert, posters commemorating teacher appreciation week were hung beside porta-potties. They were the only toilets left for faculty members after the campus’s sewage system collapsed last year.
Sierra Sands Unified School District’s inability to afford to repair the sewage system — and the subsequent decision to close the school — are the result of crimes committed decades ago, forcing officials to make a host of cuts. Its superintendent is worried about the growing risk of insolvency.
This financial crisis goes beyond Sierra Sands and threatens public entities across ...