The San Marino School Board at its Monday, October 7 meeting unanimously accepted the findings of the SMUSD’s Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC) and proceeded to direct Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson to develop a draft bond resolution and a timeline for a possible bond election that could take place as soon as March 2020. The 18-member FAC studied the district’s facilities needs over the past six to seven months and unanimously concluded that a capital facilities program was needed to address deferred maintenance and other facilities needs.
After calling for the vote on the motion that was brought forth by Board Member Chris Norgaard, seconded by Shelley Ryan and approved by all five board members, School Board President Lisa Link stated that Monday’s vote was only to consider putting a potential bond measure before voters and was not an approval of any specific election date or dollar amount at this time. Link explained that “it is up to the Board of Education to decide whether to call for a bond election, but it is up to the community of San Marino to vote and decide whether it supports providing safe, secure and educationally appropriate facilities for its students.”
Wilson said that he planned to schedule town hall meetings and would spend time at PTA and other community meetings to inform the public on the matter. He said that he would be using an electronic thought exchange to obtain public input before the first reading of a proposed bond resolution at the board’s meeting on Tuesday, October 22. After a second reading of the resolution at the Tuesday, November 12 board meeting, the board could approve a bond resolution that would call for an election. If the board decides to call for an election in March 2020, an independent advocacy group would continue to educate the San Marino community about the district’s facilities needs and priorities before the election.
Former two-term School Board Member Jeanie Caldwell, who chaired the FAC, opened Monday’s meeting by presenting the findings of the committee, which identified possible projects that added up to over $210 million. Caldwell explained that each project was assigned a priority number from 1 through 4. Projects assigned a 1 addressed a substantial safety or security issue; projects assigned a 2 addressed a moderate safety or security issue; projects assigned a 3 addressed an insignificant safety or security issue but were desired for an innovative and world class education, while projects assigned a 4 were “nice to have” in a community that values education. Projects assigned priority 1 and 2 had estimated cost estimates of over $66 million. Needs totaling over $100 million were identified at San Marino High School while Valentine Elementary School could use over $40 million, mostly because that location received the least attention during the previous bond effort and the school still uses portables that were already outdated when they were installed over 20 years ago.
Caldwell said the group addressed the district’s deferred maintenance challenges, saying that “we are continuing to band-aid these projects, but sooner or later it’s cheaper to go to the doctor.” Caldwell explained that the FAC toured the district’s sites and while the district’s facilities have an excellent exterior presence and areas renovated during the last bond project were well maintained, the interior of many facilities are aging and in need of repair.
The board also heard presentations from Chet Wang, and Christen Villalobos and Joy Tatarka, who discussed the district’s bonding capacity, property values and possible election dates. Based on a formula that begins with the assessed value of the district’s overall housing inventory, voters could approve a bond of over $170 million, though waivers and other opportunities could allow for a higher amount. Wang described different possible scenarios for potential bond amounts using various assumptions, including an assumption that the proposed bond would not exceed current bond tax rates already paid by San Marino residents. One possible scenario included a dual bond or phased election.
The board has sufficient time to place the bond before voters in time for the March 2020 election with the option of waiting until November 2020. The bond must be approved by 55% of voters.
