2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumJane Sanders' former college closes over burden of deal she made
WASHINGTON (CNN) Burlington College, the small private liberal arts school in Vermont once headed by Jane Sanders -- wife of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders -- has announced it will close its doors permanently at the end of this month due to the "crushing weight" of debt incurred from a real estate deal during her time as president.
In a statement provided to CNN, the college said that all of its current students will be able to "continue their education at a neighboring college and graduate as scheduled." As far as students who were planning on attending the school in the fall, they will be "welcomed to colleges within Vermont, of their choosing."
Jane Sanders was president of the school from 2004 to 2011 -- a tumultuous and highly contentious period in the college's history.
Sanders' plan to raise the small school's profile and attract more students was to purchase land for a new campus, 33 acres on the shores of Lake Champlain. The college of approximately 200 students planned on using the new buildings as "offices, labs, kitchens, library, gym, café, and lounges" in addition to housing for 17 students and undeveloped lake front property.
Documents obtained by CNN showed that the school applied for a $6.7 million loan in order to purchase the property from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The school also borrowed $3.5 million from the Diocese itself.
A Sanders campaign spokesman, Michael Briggs, told CNN that the campaign has "no comment at the moment."
Sanders' time at the school, in particular this land deal, has come under close scrutiny as her husband's presidential campaign gained steam. A local Vermont publication, "VT digger", reported that Sanders overstated pledged donation amounts when the school applied for the loan.
The loan application, provided to CNN by the Vermont Educational and Health Building Financing Agency (VEHBFA), showed that the school claimed that it would take in $2.6 million in pledged donations, and up to almost $6 million in possible donations, to help pay off their debts.
In its application, the college claimed to have managed all its debt and "demonstrated a strong financial position that steadily trended upward over the last several years."
In the loan document, signed by Sanders, People's United Bank requires that the college "receive commitments of a minimum of $2.27 million of grants and donations prior to closing." Audits obtained by VT digger show that the school only took in $676,000.
Jim Foley, general counsel of the VEHBFA, told CNN that "as far as the agency is concerned the loan documentation was fine" but that "hindsight is always 20/20. It looks like the college didn't have the cash flow or the student enrollment" to maintain the financial burden of the loan.
In 2011 alone, Sanders reported on the loan application that they had over $1.3 million in confirmed donations. An audit of the school's finances posted online by a news organization showed contributions of only $127,655.
http://www.wibw.com/content/news/Jane-Sanders-former-college-closes-doors-citing-burden-of-land-deal-she-orchestrated-379798321.html
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)SFnomad
(3,473 posts)Jane Sanders is directly responsible for the debt that closed Burlington College.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)SFnomad
(3,473 posts)but hey, for people like you, it's just easier to blame Secretary Clinton.
Silver_Witch
(1,820 posts)Silver_Witch
(1,820 posts)...Jane is not running for President. Bernie Sanders is. And although Mrs. Clinton expects to use former President Bill Clinton as her running mate - Bernie Sanders is not using his companion as his running mate.
And although it is even more confusing to Hillary Clinton supporters Mrs. Sanders actions are not a reflection on Bernie.
Hillary Supporters want it both ways...they want us to pretend Bill Clinton's bad decisions as president are not a reflection on Hillary but that Mrs. Sanders are.
scscholar
(2,902 posts)described her wife as "one of his key advisers." That makes her an issue even if this college thing that happened over a decade after she left isn't an issue.
scscholar
(2,902 posts)She left six years ago!
RandySF
(59,158 posts)scscholar
(2,902 posts)This is just a typical irrational media hit piece.
azurnoir
(45,850 posts)their financial woes in 5 years and the company that owns it would not help yet Sanders is to blame-seems a stretch to me
TheFarS1de
(1,017 posts)Who needs proof . Just post lies and watch the other side disprove it ... much easier . Just ask Hillary's besty Brock .
RandySF
(59,158 posts)TheFarS1de
(1,017 posts)Thanks for snarking .... I mean asking
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)What the Hillary folks leave out however is that schools of this size are in a tricky position. They've outgrown their current awkward space and need to expand. Where and how to do this is key. There's precedent for a couple different directions to take but no clear avenue to success so colleges of this size face a dilemma.
Burlington College, student population of 300 during Jane Sanders tenure, had a choice. Unsexy cheap commercial warehouse, or gamble and bid on lovely waterfront property and hope the better aesthetics boosted enrollment.
Jane Sanders pushed for the lovely location.
It was always a gamble. A very young upstart college of 300 students could very well have failed just as easily in the office park location.
It was a crapshoot and Jane's gamble didn't pay off.
This is the nuanced explanation however. Hillary supporters aren't interested in that.