After more than two hours of lively discussion, the San Marino School Board voted on Tuesday night to place a $200 million facilities modernization bond before voters at the March 2020 election. School Board Member Corey Barberie cast the lone dissenting vote while Shelley Ryan, Chris Norgaard, C. Joseph Chang and Board President Lisa Link all supported the resolution, which was set forth by Norgaard and seconded by Chang.
California law states that bonds must be approved by more than 2/3rds of board members to pass, so the 4-1 vote fulfilled the minimum requirement.
Earlier in the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson introduced three possible options for the board to consider. The $200 million bond and March vote was the highest dollar amount and the earliest possible election date of the three options.
If approved by voters in March, the bond will actually be considered a continuation of an existing bond that currently costs taxpayers $60 per $100,000 of assessed home value, annually.
Sixteen community members made statements during the public comment section regarding the item, and while some supported a smaller dollar amount, it appeared that 11 opposed the bond while five voiced their support.
Barberie, who served as liaison on a Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC) that researched the district’s facilities and came back to the board with a recommendation for the maximum amount, said the board should first develop a facilities Master Plan and place a smaller bond before voters. A 55% majority of voters must approve the bond for passage.
“I have been struggling with this quite a bit,” Barberie said during the board discussion period. Barberie stated that he felt Wilson needed to “create a vision for the district” and said that a smaller bond, in the neighborhood of $100 million, would offer “more flexibility.”
A few speakers suggested the district pay more attention to curriculum, but Board Member Shelley Ryan stated that a facilities modernization program would not get in the way with its typical business.
“I don’t see it as a conflict,” Ryan said. ‘We all want what is best for the children. We are looking at curriculum every day.”
Chang stated that he is active at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens as well as Huntington Hospital and said that those institutions have remained at the top of their respective fields due to investments in facilities.
“Curriculum is a different issue,” he said. He also said that state-of-the-art facilities will “motivate the kids.”
Norgaard noted the many neighboring communities which have passed bonds, including South Pasadena, La Cañada, Alhambra, Arcadia and Pasadena as well as other districts in Southern California and around the nation.
“We have a unique opportunity to take advantage of historically low interest rates” Norgaard said.
He also referenced the FAC and recited the mission statement of the San Marino City Club, which which includes a charge to “secure the best civic, educational and cultural services and facilities possible” before casting his “yes” vote.
Link reminded the assemblage that she had voiced support for the $200 million bond at a previous meeting.
“There is no question in my mind that it is in the best interests of our students to have safe, secure, modernized, and educationally appropriate facilities,” she said on Tuesday evening. “I think it is important to invest in our students’ educations and futures, and given that this State does not sufficiently do so, it falls on local communities to step up and support our local public schools.”
Link also mentioned the local districts who have passed or completed bond projects.
“How sad it would be if this board and the San Marino community sent a message to our students that they are not deserving of the same investment,” Link said. “If the Board decides to move forward with a bond resolution, it will become the community’s responsibility to vote and decide whether it supports a bond to improve the District’s facilities. San Marino has a longstanding and strong tradition of supporting its public schools and its students, and I have faith that the San Marino community will continue to invest in its students if it is given the opportunity to make that decision.”
When the vote was tallied and the resolution passed, it appeared that half the audience applauded the result.
