College once run by Jane Sanders forced to close by 'crushing weight' of debt

Sanders served as president of the college from 2004 to 2011

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Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders has campaigned on the promise of eliminating student debt in the US. But his proximity to a failed college previously run by his wife, Jane, could add extra “crushing” weight to his uphill climb to the Democratic nomination.

Burlington College announced that it is closing its doors at the end of May, blaming the “crushing weight of the debt” that resulted from a 2010 land purchase made during Jane Sanders’ tenure as president, as well as other “insurmountable” financial difficulties.

“It is with great sense of loss to the educational community that Burlington College's progressive and unique educational model will no longer be available to students,” a school spokesperson said in a statement.

Burlington College was founded in 1972, A non-traditional, progressive institution, it launched without “financial backing, paid its bills when they came due, and it paid its President when it could,” the website says.

Ms Sanders served as president of the school from 2004 to 2011, during which she helped broker a deal to purchase 32-acres of land from the Burlington Roman Catholic Diocese. The idea was to expand the school, increase the student body, and inspire more alumni donations.

The Vermont Journalism Trust reported that when taking out a $6.7m loan, Ms Sanders overstated donation amounts the college would receive. She reportedly told the People’s United Bank that the school had received $2.6m in pledged donations, when in actuality the college only received $676,000 between 2010 and 2014.

Burlington College also listed a $1m bequest that would be paid out over six years - although only upon the death of the donor.

Ultimately, the school purchased the land for $10 million in bonds and loans, which included a $3.5m loan from the diocese.

Ms Sanders resigned, receiving a $200,000 severance package, amid pressure from the board of trustees over the millions of dollars in loans, according to the VJT.

Burlington faced losing its accreditation for financial insufficiency following Ms Sanders’ departure - putting it at risk of losing federal funds and legitimacy - and could not pay off its debts, despite selling off some of the acquired land. Still, the bank pulled the school’s line of credit.

“I believe the vision was enrollment would grow, which it did, but not at the level that would have allowed us to manage the financial debt we had incurred,” Coralee Holm, Burlington’s Dean of Operations and Advancement, said at a news conference. “So here we are.”

Ms Sanders’ history with Burlington College’s financial problems that ultimately led to the closure of the school certainly complicates her role in Mr Sanders’ bid for the White House.

While she travels the campaign trail touting Mr Sanders’ promise to provide free public college and university to US students, she now faces questions of her role in the demise of the Vermont educational institution, and the displacement of its students.