James Madison High School in San Diego. Unofficial returns a week after Election Day showed several local school bonds still being counted. Photo: RightCowLeftCoast, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unofficial returns a week after Election Day showed several San Diego County school bond measures with “yes” votes in the lead, including San Diego Unified’s Measure M and a smaller rural bond in the Mountain Empire Unified School District, KPBS reported Nov. 9. Superintendent Fabi Bagula of San Diego Unified said in a statement quoted by KPBS, “The passing of Measure M is a powerful expression of trust in our district and the future of our public schools.” The station also said “yes” votes were leading in La Mesa-Spring Valley and Vista Unified. Those figures were still unofficial, and more ballots remained to be counted.
In the Mountain Empire district, which covers a large rural stretch of East County, Superintendent Patrick Keeley told KPBS his staff was “cautiously optimistic” about Measure L, which the district has said would pay for renovating the high school and upgrading failing utility systems. Keeley said parts of the high school’s foundation are crumbling, with exposed rebar, and that much of the exterior is plywood without a shear structure underneath. “If you took off that siding to repair, the structural integrity of the entire building is no longer viable,” he said. Reform California, which opposed other school bonds in the county, told KPBS that Measure L “addresses genuine health and safety hazards in a small rural school district” and could help the district qualify for state matching funds.
Not every bond was clearly over the line. KPBS said more than half of the votes counted so far in the Fallbrook Union Elementary and Santee school districts were in favor, but that those shares were still below the 55 percent needed to pass a school bond. Santee Superintendent Kristin Baranski said the district has $72 million in repair needs for roofs, plumbing and heating and cooling systems, and that its bond would generate $30 million. About 84 percent of the district’s budget already goes to salaries and benefits, she said. “There’s not all this extra money out there to save up for $72 million.” “No” votes were leading in the Jamul-Dulzura Union and Julian Union High school districts, KPBS reported.
School construction bonds in California generally need 55 percent, not a simple majority, and the Registrar of Voters had not certified the November election as of the Nov. 9 report. Districts that are leading can plan, but they cannot sell bonds until the count is finished and the results are official. For Mountain Empire, the practical question is whether Measure L stays above the threshold so the high school can be rebuilt rather than patched. For San Diego Unified, Bagula’s statement treated Measure M as having passed; the official canvass will confirm whether that holds.
