Questions abound in San Luis Coastal home loan to superintendent

The decision by San Luis Coastal Unified trustees to take out a 2.6 percent mortgage loan to presumably keep Superintendent Eric Prater (“San Luis Coastal school district gives superintendent $950,000 home loan,” Dec. 17) raises questions: Where can one get a $950,000 home loan at 2.6 percent? Isn’t the going rate higher? Is housing so expensive that a salary of $215,000 per year, plus, I would presume, a take-home vehicle and other benefits, precludes a family similarly situated from buying perhaps a less expensive home? Is the net benefit to Prater the principal of the loan ($950,000) less interest ($300,000) and a $50,000 deduction to his salary, or $600,000 for the balance of his contract ending in 2021? Is Prater required to pay income tax on this amount?

This story was originally published December 30, 2016 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Questions abound in San Luis Coastal home loan to superintendent."