Voters approve $4.6 billion for local school bonds 

From the $10.4 billion statewide school facilities proposition to more than $4.6 billion in local bonds, Californians once again gave a strong vote of confidence in investing in their children’s education at the ballot box last month.

Proposition 1D, part of a package of roads, water and other infrastructure financing throughout the state, was approved by 56.6 percent of voters in the Nov. 7 election. It will help relieve school overcrowding and repair older schools all over California.

At the local level, 49 school district bond measures needing a 55 percent minimum approval passed. They qualified under Proposition 39, the measure approved by the state’s voters in 2000 that imposes strict accountability requirements in exchange for a lower threshold than the two-thirds approval rating required under Proposition 13, the keystone of 1978’s taxpayer revolt. Eleven bonds requiring a 55 percent approval failed.

Ocean View Elementary School District in Ventura County piled up the largest majority, with more than three voters in four endorsing a $13.2 million bond. CSBA Vice President Paul H. Chatman is president of Ocean View’s board, and he attributes the strong showing to the district’s ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication with the community.

“We make an extra, extra effort to always keep the community involved in what we’re doing in our schools. It’s an open institution, not a closed institution,” Chatman said. “We’re always that face in the mirror,” reflecting the community’s character.

Ocean View serves an agricultural area and a military base, but it also has a large retirement community, Chatman said. Retirees take an active interest in the district, and many volunteer to help out in the 2,500-student district’s classrooms.

“A lot of those who don’t have children [now] had children who came through here,” Chatman observed. “It’s just a smart practice to make sure you’ve got a broad base [of support]. You’ve got to include seniors.”

San Diego County’s Sweetwater Union High School District voters approved the largest local bond measure, a $644 million proposal to continue six years of progress in repairing and upgrading the district’s facilities.

The size of the bond is commensurate with Sweetwater’s size; it’s the largest secondary school district in the state, according to its Web site, with 39,000 students in grades 7-12—and 28,981 adult students.

The district’s Web site illustrates the open communications that Chatman says are so crucial for building support for district initiatives. Its home page—www.suhsd.k12.ca.us—prominently features a “Construction Update” icon that users can click on for information about Sweetwater’s ambitious building and renovation program, and a statement from Sweetwater board President Greg Sandoval underscores the benefit of voters’ continuing investment in district improvements.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our district,” Sandoval’s statement says of last month’s bond approval. “It is also a good thing for taxpayers because, with our team already in place, there is no down time. We can continue our facility improvements uninterrupted, saving more money for taxpayers.”

One education bond campaign, for $71.1 million in Ventura County’s Oak Park Unified School District, sought the two-thirds approval required under Proposition 13. It fell short of that amount but would have met Proposition 39’s 55 percent requirement.

On parcel taxes for education, Proposition 88’s statewide measure for a $50 annual levy received less than a quarter of the votes cast. CSBA and many education groups declined to support the measure, which would have raised less than $500 million per year but included many undesirable details. Only two of the four local parcel tax proposals were able to attract the two-thirds approval that they required. 

Related links:

• Find a table of all local bond and parcel tax results @ www.csba.org
• For information on how CSBA can help districts comply with Proposition 39-required audits, log on to www.csba.org/ds/pro39.cfm