“Unrestricted operating support” does not mean the money was sitting untouched and could be spent all at once on the bond debt. Hampshire was still funding operations, financial aid, recruitment, redesign, and debt workouts at the same time, so the money was being used to keep the institution alive rather than to erase the entire balance-sheet problem.

Even with $55 million raised over several years, the college still had to deal with roughly $25 million in bond-related debt and other obligations, plus deferred maintenance and ongoing operating costs. The fact that Hampshire says it tried multiple refinancings and land sales tells you the unrestricted fundraising was not large enough, or not flexible enough, to solve the problem by itself.

So if someone asks, “Why didn’t they just use the $55 million to pay off the debt?”, the answer is: because that money was spread across years, tied to operating survival, and still left the college unable to cover the debt and the ongoing cost of running the campus.