Rick Sayre and Mike Rios Can't Figure Out What 45 Other Area School Board Trustees Have

Moreno Valley USD Desperately Needs Bond Funds but the Sayre and Rios "Brain Trust"  Don't Understand Why!

Nine school districts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have placed bond measures on the Nov. 6 presidential election ballot, hoping that voters will agree to tax themselves to help schools catch up with technology and repair or replace outdated buildings.

Without much hope that the state will pay for such improvements anytime soon, districts are turning to voters during an election expected to draw a higher-than-usual turnout.

“It’s just a large turnout,” said Bob Brown, president of the Temecula Valley Unified School District board, which will be asking voters to approve a $165 million bond measure.

“The more people you get, the more people are interested, the better chance you have,” Brown said.

School districts’ needs are many, and the list grows every year: leaking roofs in San Bernardino, an old air-conditioning system in Hemet, a lack of technical education labs in Temecula, the demand for a high school in Menifee, to name just a few.

Still, many district leaders are concerned that survey results may not reflect voters’ true sentiments and that, when faced with the anonymity of their ballot, they will say no to adding possibly $100 or more to their annual tax bills. That is why some districts, such as Corona-Norco Unified, decided against bond measures.

Voters also will have to decide whether they want to support their local district’s school construction bonds as well as Prop. 30, which seeks to raise taxes temporarily, with a major portion going to education. Many districts will have to cut their budgets midyear if Prop. 30 fails.

Districts are not allowed to spend taxpayer money on bond campaigns. They can ask volunteers to form committees, which can solicit contributions to pay for advertising or other campaign materials.

DEFERRED MAINTENANCE

Since 2009, school districts have been allowed the flexibility to spend many previously restricted funds to save teaching jobs, preserve class sizes and keep student services such as busing, music and counseling.

One of those previously restricted funds was for deferred maintenance and went to pay for periodic work like new paint, fresh asphalt and roofing.

Christakos said Hemet decided it was important to maintain facilities and keep up with that deferred maintenance schedule.

But the deferred maintenance fund normally isn’t enough to pay for a whole new roof intended to last 30 to 50 years, he said. Likewise, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems are supposed to last 30 years, Christakos said.

“That’s the kind of stuff you want to invest your bond money in,” he said.

Alvord Unified, Hemet Unified and Nuview Union school districts in Riverside County are among a dozen statewide asking voters to reauthorize some of the bonds they approved in 2006 and 2007.

When property values dropped, the districts never issued some bonds because the tax rates needed to pay off the bonds would have been too high. Now they want to decertify the unissued amounts and reauthorize them, without increasing authorized total debt.

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS

When many Inland districts approved bonds during the construction boom several years ago, educators didn’t foresee the huge demand for computers.

Since then, California and most states have adopted Common Core Standards. With the new curriculum, the state plans to replace its paper standardized tests in 2014-15 with tests students take online.

Most schools have a computer lab, often an aging one, that typically will accommodate one class at a time. Standardized tests now are taken by the whole school at the same time. Educators are worried about logistical challenges to get all students to take online tests in the short period allowed by the state.

Hemet Unified School District Assistant Superintendent Vincent Christakos is also vice president of the California Association of School Business Officials. He said wiring and servers for more Internet access are needed by many districts.

“Everybody expects we’re in the modern age,” Christakos said.

Schools also need computer access for programs to help struggling students, he said. Those computer programs automatically adjust to match a student’s current skill levels, rather than wasting time drilling them on what they already know or overwhelming them with questions way beyond their current ability.

BANKING ON ‘YES’

Many districts said the projects that would be covered by the bonds can’t be postponed forever.

In their bond documents, districts say it is important to get that work done now, before it becomes more pressing and costly. Construction costs and interest rates are historically low, so the money will go further, they say.

Passing a bond measure requires a “yes” from at least 55 percent of voters. The districts must appoint citizen oversight committees to make sure the bonds are spent as intended.

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified is another district with a bond. It placed a $98 million bond measure on the Nov. 6 ballot to help upgrade its aging facilities and classroom technology.

The school district would sell the bonds in three or four series over a span of 10 to 15 years.

In January, when the Yucaipa-Calimesa school board was researching whether to float a bond measure, consultant Ann Feng-Gagne acknowledged at a board meeting that November's ballot is going to be crowded.

The board decided to proceed because Assistant Superintendent George Velarde said the district’s needs have become astronomical.

Calimesa resident Linda Molina supports the bond measure.

"These are desperate times,” she told the school board. “I see this as a way for our community to support our district in ways we haven't been able to."

Also contributing: Staff writer Erin Waldner, ewaldner@pe.com

SCHOOL BONDS

Nine school districts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are putting bond measures on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Temecula Valley Unified, $165 million, cost to property owners $10 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: facilities, equipment for vocational education in health, science, technology and the trades; upgraded computers and classrooms science labs.

Perris Union High School District, $153.4 million, cost to property owners $30 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: improved classrooms, science labs, vocational education and instructional technology; hazardous materials removal; fire safety improvements; other upgrades.

Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified, $98 million, cost to property owners up to $44.25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation annually. Needs: computer and instructional technology upgrades; new or improved vocational classrooms and labs; repairs, replacement of leaky roofs, aging classrooms, old restrooms and other facilities.

Alvord Unified, in parts of Riverside and Corona, $79 million reauthorization of 2007 bonds, cost to property owners $51 per $100,000 in assessed valuation annually. Needs: new or refurbished classrooms and schools, including vocational education facilities, heating and air-conditioning systems, science labs and computer technology access.

Hemet Unified, $49 million, cost to property owners $27.50 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: upgrade or replace heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; reduce borrowing costs on 2006 bonds.

Nuview Union School District, east of Perris, $4 million reauthorization of 2006 bonds, cost to property owners $27 (capped at $30) per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: better student access to computers and technology; building or renovations; new equipment; lower borrowing costs.

San Bernardino City Unified, $250 million, cost to property owners up to $34 per $100,000 assessed valuation annually. Needs: repair or replace leaky roofs, deteriorating classrooms, fire alarms, security and electrical systems; remove asbestos; update classroom technology, labs and other upgrades.

Coachella Valley Unified, $41 million, cost to property owners not available. Needs: upgrades to electrical and computer systems; new mobile learning devices; and school facility upgrades.

Chaffey Joint Union High School District, in Ontario, $848 million, cost to property owners up to $19.94 per $100,000 assessed valuation. Needs: repair restrooms, leaky roofs, heating, air-conditioning and fire safety systems; remove asbestos; upgrade handicapped accessibility; science and computer labs; other upgrades.