Muskegon Hts. Schools receives $3.5-million loan | Education

MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) -- The state has given Muskegon Heights Public Schools a $3.5 million loan.

The money is to be used to help the West Michigan school district pay its debts. The Muskegon Chronicle reports Friday that the loan under the state's Emergency Municipal Loan Act is the second one the district has received.

This past August, the state loaned the district $7.6 million.
A financial emergency in the city prompted the appointment of emergency financial manager Donald Weatherspoon, who ordered the school district to stop providing educational services at the end of the last school year. He also laid off most of the district's staff.

The district has up to 30 years to pay off the loan, which carries an initial 2.35 percent interest rate.