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Three districts to ask voters to pass construction bonds
By Rebecca Ray
Despite a recession, three local school boards recently decided to issue bonds at the next election. On March 5, 2002, Saratoga voters will decide whether to fund construction and renovation projects for the Saratoga Union School, Campbell Union School and West Valley-Mission Community College districts.
The Saratoga Union School District Board of Trustees voted Nov. 27 to issue a $19.9 million general obligation bond for projects at its four schools. The $40 million Measure D bond, passed in 1997, and state matching funds had originally financed the projects. But because the district experienced rising construction costs, and district officials spent money on necessary seismic retrofitting--which they didn't know about until after the Measure D election--the district experienced a shortfall in funds, says board President Stephanie Petrossi. To finish postponed projects, district officials borrowed $8 million from investors and decided to issue another bond.
The bond money would go toward repaying the $8 million loan, which is financing projects at Argonaut and Foothill elementary schools.
Bond money would also go toward postponed projects at Redwood Middle School, which include the modernization of four wings, the renovation of bathrooms and locker rooms, the repair of plumbing and electrical wires, the upgrading of technology and the expansion of the student services building.
District officials created a "secondary list" of projects they would like to complete after they finish the projects at Redwood and if they have bond money left over. "Secondary list" projects include building new classrooms at Argonaut and Foothill, if the district needs them.
If the new bond passes, district officials project that residents will pay no more than $39 per $100,000 of assessed valuation on their homes each year from the two bonds combined, Petrossi says. Shortly after voters passed Measure D in 1997, they paid $39 per $100,000 of assessed valuation annually. Since then, assessed valuation has increased, and the tax rate that voters pay has decreased to $28.50.
The district can require voters to pay a $39 tax rate until 2024, three years before the second bond ends in 2027. After 2024--which is also the last year that voters will pay for the first bond--the district can only require voters to pay up to a $30 tax rate each year.
The Campbell Union School District Board of Trustees decided Dec. 4 to issue a $74.9 million bond for renovations, repairs and maintenance at its elementary and middle schools. The district identified repairing old, deteriorating buildings and plumbing; upgrading classrooms, technology and security systems; improving parking; and renovating and expanding school libraries as some of its greatest needs. About $18 million would go toward renovating Monroe Middle School, while smaller, though significant, chunks of money would go toward Hazelwood Elementary and Rolling Hills Middle schools.
District officials estimate that voters will pay $29 per $100,000 of assessed home valuation each year. District personnel are not sure yet how long voters will pay for the bond, says district communications specialist Marla Olszewski. Under Proposition 39, which voters passed in November 2000, voters can pay for one bond for a maximum of 30 years.
On Nov. 29, the West Valley-Mission Community College District board of trustees voted to issue a general obligation bond. The $268,653,300 bond will cover the construction, acquisition, repair and equipment of educational facilities, including athletic facilities at West Valley College; technology and safety upgrades; accessibility for people with disabilities; and $22,425,000 in loans the district obtained in 1997 and 1999.
Jim Roth, vice president of SalomonSmithBarney, the company that is analyzing bond capacity for the district, says he expects homeowners to pay between $11 and $15 per $100,000 of assessed valuation each year. If district officials issue the bond in three series, as they have discussed, voters will spend 25 to 30 years paying for each series, Roth said.
The annual amount that homeowners pay after the first issuance will remain the same after subsequent issuances, barring changes in assessed valuation, Trustee Don Wolfe said.
Although the trustees have no definitive plans for adding seats, lights, restrooms and a press box to the football and track facility at West Valley College, the passage of the bond would allow them to do so. Trustee Jeffrey Schwartz warned the board that it would encounter strong opposition from Saratoga residents who oppose the district's proposed changes, and that the residents could mount a counter-campaign.
Schwartz, who also opposes such changes to the facility, chose not to vote on whether to issue the bond.
Erin Mayes contributed to this report.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
