Editor’s Note: This information can be found at votescount.us.
Measure A
Scotts Valley Unified School District Bond
55% to pass
Argument for Measure A
We understand these are difficult times. The pandemic has impacted our families, students, teachers, staff, and local businesses. When our students and staff return to our schools we must be prepared to meet deferred maintenance needs, and new challenges.
The District considered waiting two years until the next election to ask for your support, but there are essential projects that cannot wait. At this critical time, we must improve the health and safety of our school campuses.
With the community’s trust and support, the District successfully completed our new middle school but now must address the long-deferred needs of our 20-year-old high school and much older two elementary schools. These campuses need significant infrastructure updates — ventilation, security, roofs, restroom improvements, plumbing, and electrical.
These COVID-19-related and other safety improvements will directly impact the education and well-being of our students and staff. Our classrooms also need upgrades to increase the quality of science and technology education our students need.
This Measure addresses only the essentials our schools need, prioritized from the facilities master plan. The District will be extremely prudent and intentional with necessary facility improvements. You can read the detailed list of priorities for yourself in the full resolution.
By law, spending will be reviewed by an independent citizens’ oversight committee and audited annually to ensure compliance with this measure’s provisions. Funds can be spent only on facilities, not on salaries.
These are your schools. Quality schools improve student achievement, increase property values, prepare children for a productive future, and increase community safety.
Our great teachers and staff must have safe and functional facilities to provide our students with a quality education.
— David T. Hodgin, Small business owner/Senior citizen advocate
— Sue Roth, Board President, Santa Cruz County Office of Education
— Jim Reed, Scotts Valley City Councilmember
— Heidi Denger, SVMS and SVHS Parent
— Roger Snyder, Board President, Scotts Valley Unified School District
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Argument against Measure A
Once again, the taxpayers are being asked to pay for another school bond for Scotts Valley Schools. We already have 2 bonds on our current tax bills for the district. One from 2013 and another from 2014. Has all that money been spent? And yet we continue to pay.
According to the proponent’s “Statement” the best estimate of the total debt service, including the principal and interest, that would be required to be repaid if all the bonds are issued and sold is approximately 92 million dollars. The final fiscal year in which the tax is anticipated to be collected is 2055-56. WOW!
At a time when we really cannot say what school will look like in the future, why go into even MORE debt to refurbish facilities that may not be used? Perhaps a wiser idea would be to wait until next year when we have a better idea of what lies ahead.
— Eric Erickson
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Rebuttal to Argument Against Measure A
Scotts Valley students and staff need Measure A now to address critical health needs and crumbling infrastructure. Here is why we cannot wait:
- Students will return to school soon. We must address critical safety issues now in light of new health requirements. The District cannot wait for these aged-out infrastructure systems to fail one after the other.
- Power, Internet, and classroom technologies need significant upgrades to support teaching to K-12 Next Generation Science Standards.
- The District’s general fund cannot handle these extraordinary expenses without severely cutting educational programs and staff. Sacramento’s broken funding formula leaves SVUSD as the 7th lowest-funded Unified School District in California.
- Bond elections occur only in a regular election cycle; our aging and obsolete ventilation, security, and electrical systems cannot wait another two years.
Measure A makes financial sense — tax rates will be lower in the coming years as both the refinanced 2013 bonds that funded SVHS and the parcel tax expire in 2024.
The 2055-56 term identifies the longest permitted financing. We are not obligated to this schedule. Most of the 2014 bonds that funded SVMS have a 15-year maturity.
SVUSD has a reputation for fiscal prudence. Our infrastructure is outdated, there are no other funding sources, and these projects will only get more costly over time. Our students and staff deserve safe facilities, suitable for the hazards of our times and the educational programs they need.
Measure A will fund these facility needs for the next generation.
— Hannah Walsh, Teacher and SVEA President
— Jane McElrone, Accountant and SVHS Parent Club President
— Michael Shulman, Governing Boardmember, SVUSD
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Rebuttal to Argument For Measure A
Forty-nine million dollars … 92 million over the length of the bond. Let that sink in. The list of improvements in Measure A do not match the mountainous sum that is unjustifiably requested.
Forty-nine million dollars could build an entirely new school. Instead, the Scotts Valley taxpayer gets a multitude of small projects that include repaired roof leaks, and vaguely labeled “21st Century improvements to classrooms and restrooms”.
This measure acts as a blank check and includes projects that should be completed on a rolling basis. Now is not the right time for a blank check.
— Eric Erickson, Sr. Manufacturing Director/SVHS Parent
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Impartial Analysis of Measure A
Jason M. Heath, County Counsel
By: Ruby Márquez, Chief Assistant County Counsel
Under the California Constitution, school districts may issue bonds if approved by at least 55 percent of voters within the boundaries of that district. These bonds are sold to the public and constitute a debt of the district.
The principal and interest on the bonds are repaid by an annual property tax levied on all real property within the jurisdiction of the school district. This is known as an “ad valorem tax” and is calculated based on the current assessed value of each property.
The Board of Trustees of the Scotts Valley Unified School District (“the District”) has placed Measure A on the ballot, which proposes the sale of bonds in an amount not to exceed $49 million. The District anticipates that these bonds would generate approximately $2.7 million annually.
The District’s best estimate of the average annual tax rate to be levied is approximately $30.50 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year. The best estimate of the highest tax rate is $32.00 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year. If the measure passes, it is anticipated that this tax would be collected through fiscal year 2055-56 to repay the bonds.
In accordance with the law, the funds from the sale of these bonds shall only be used for specific purposes related to school site facilities, buildings, and classrooms. The law does not allow these bond funds to be used for teacher and administrator salaries or other operational expenses.
The District has submitted a “Bond Project List” contained within the full body of the measure.
With these funds, the District plans to modernize, replace, renovate, construct, acquire, and/or rebuild the District’s facilities. The types of projects funded may include, but are not limited to:
- Adapting classrooms, restrooms, and school facilities to address current needs, including pandemic-related requirements;
- Improving student access to computers and modern technology, including providing necessary infrastructure, hardware, software, computers, devices, etc.;
- Replacing outdated electrical wiring systems;
- Improving accessibility to facilities to meet federal and state regulations under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA); and
- Upgrading school safety and security systems, such as fire alarms and cameras.
As required by law, the District must follow certain accountability provisions, including the establishment of an independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee, the annual completion of Performance and Financial Audits, and an annual report detailing the amount of proceeds collected by the sale of the bonds and the expenditures made.
A “YES” vote on Measure A is a vote to authorize the District to sell and issue up to $49 million in general obligation bonds to be repaid by the levy of ad valorem taxes on real property in the District boundaries.
A “NO” vote on Measure A is a vote against the issuance of the proposed bonds by the District.
Scotts Valley Unified School District Bond Project List
Bond proceeds will be expended to modernize, replace, renovate, construct, acquire and rebuild the District’s facilities as described in the following list. Whenever specific items are included in the following list, they are presented to provide an example and are not intended to limit the generality of the broader description of the types of authorized projects.
- Adapt the interior and/or exterior of existing outdated classrooms, restrooms, and school facilities to address current needs, including pandemic-related requirements.
- Replace inadequate wiring and electrical systems to meet current electrical and accessibility codes, increase capacity, and relieve currently overloaded electrical systems.
- Repair or replace outdated or inefficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning
- Repair or replace leaky roofs
- Make improvements to school safety and security, including fire alarms, sprinkler systems, school communication systems, security cameras, surveillance systems, exterior lighting and fencing
- Modernize/renovate outdated classrooms, restrooms and school facilities to meet 21st century educational standards, including providing updated furnishings and other equipment to facilitate a modern learning environment
- Improve student access to computers and modern technology, including providing all necessary infrastructure, hardware, software, computers, devices and other modern instructional equipment
- Repair or replace deteriorating plumbing and sewer systems
- Make health and safety improvements, such as replacing aging building materials, including removal of hazardous materials identified either prior to or during construction including asbestos, and seismic reinforcements
- Make energy-efficiency improvements to reduce utility costs, including installing solar panels
- Upgrade/improve P.E. fields, playgrounds, play structures and similar facilities for school and community use
- Upgrade, expand, construct, repair and/or equip school facilities, including, labs, multipurpose rooms, and other school facilities.
- Federal and State-mandated Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) safety upgrades, including playground equipment replacement
- Ensure and upgrade handicapped accessibility to District facilities, including to meet all federal and state-mandated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility to schools, and as mandated by the Division of the State Architect (DSA), including upgrades to site access, parking, staff and student restrooms, relocation of certain existing electrical devices, drinking fountains, playground equipment, and other necessary improvements.
- Acquisition of all or a portion of any school site or facility, or an interest therein, or make lease payments with respect to any school site or facility, encumbered in order to finance or refinance the listed school facilities projects.
- Upgrade, repair and/or expand school site parking, roadways, grounds and other infrastructure such as utility systems, including installing exterior lighting, repairing pathways, walkways, ADA access ramps and related landscaping
The bond projects described in this Bond Project List include the costs of furnishing and equipping such facilities, and all costs which are incidental but directly related to the types of projects described above.
Examples of incidental costs include, but are not limited to: costs of design, engineering, architect and other professional services, facilities assessments, inspections, site preparation, utilities, landscaping, construction management and other planning and permitting, legal, accounting and similar costs; independent annual financial and performance audits; a customary construction contingency; demolition and disposal of existing structures; the costs of interim housing and storage during construction including relocation and construction costs incurred relating to interim facilities; rental or construction of storage facilities and other space on an interim basis for materials and other equipment and furnishings displaced during construction; costs of relocating facilities and equipment as needed in connection with the projects; interim classrooms and facilities for students, administrators, and school functions, including modular facilities; federal and state-mandated safety upgrades; addressing unforeseen conditions revealed by construction/modernization and other necessary improvements required to comply with existing building codes, including the Field Act; access requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act; costs of the election; project construction oversight, management and administration during the duration of such projects, including by District personnel, and bond issuance costs.
Unforeseen conditions may arise during the course of planning, design and construction resulting in the scope and nature of any of the specific projects described above being altered by the District. In the event that the District determines that a modernization or renovation project is more economical for the District or otherwise in the District’s best interests to be undertaken as new construction, this bond measure authorizes said new construction, including relocation, expansion and construction and/or reconstruction, and all costs relating thereto.
In addition, this measure authorizes the acquisition of real property rights of ways or other real property interests required to provide access to school or other District facilities. Further, authorized projects include reimbursements for project costs previously paid and paying and/or prepaying interim or previously obtained financing for the types of projects included on the project list, such as bond anticipation notes, and including payment and prepayment of lease payments relating to projects and/or equipment previously financed. Finally, projects on this list may be undertaken and used as joint use projects with other public agencies.
For any project listed above with respect to construction at an existing District site, the District is authorized to identify an alternate site and/or acquire land for such purpose and construct the approved project at such site if the District has determined that the existing site does not satisfy any requirements of the Division of State Architect or other State laws, codes and regulations applicable to public school sites.
Approval of the District’s bond measure does not guarantee that all of the identified projects within this Bond Project List will be funded beyond what can be completed with local funds generated by the bond measure and does not guarantee that the projects will be completed in any particular order. The District will also pursue funds from the State of California to complete certain of the identified facilities projects.
The order in which school facilities projects are listed above does not suggest an order of priority. Project priorities will be determined by the School Board.