Bond would pay off Anzar loan, build new facilities
On June 3, two years after voters in the Aromas-San Juan Unified
School District failed to pass a school bond measure, residents
will vote on another school bond measure, this one for as much as
$21.9 million.
Bond would pay off Anzar loan, build new facilities
On June 3, two years after voters in the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District failed to pass a school bond measure, residents will vote on another school bond measure, this one for as much as $21.9 million.
Although he cannot depend on the measure passing, the bond would be part of the economic recovery of the district, said Tim Foley, county superintendent of schools.
By June 30, school district officials will be $600,000 short of making payroll, said Jaquelyn Muñoz, district superintendent.
The bond measure would pay off the certificate of participation (COP), a loan that school board members took out to build Anzar High School. However, even the least expensive plan being considered is mostly devoted to new construction.
Built 12 years ago, it would cost about $1.6 million to pay off the Anzar High loan, she said
The debt costs district officials $350,000 per year, Muñoz said.
“We’ve been paying the certificate of participation from school impact fees,” she said, adding the district only received about $37,000 in school impact fees this year.
The shortfall would come from the school’s general fund, she said.
Ken Halla was the vice principal of San Juan School for five years and the principal of Aromas for four years. The need to pay off the COP makes the bond issue more complicated, Halla said.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re in this position,” he said. “There is no way that the two issues, the facilities needs and the fiscal needs, can be separated as individual issues.”
The same people who said that district officials could afford the loan are pushing the bond measure, Halla said.
The bond measure would replace portable classrooms with permanent classrooms at Anzar and Aromas, Muñoz said
Halla charges that facilities needs were improperly prioritized in a successful 2002 bond measure.
“The need to replace those portables at Aromas School has been longstanding and critical for over a decade now,” he said. “I do think that the school district made another imprudent decision when they built the gymnasium rather than filling their classroom needs.”
Cathy Alameda, a San Juan Bautista resident, agreed.
“I understand the needs at Aromas,” she said. “I empathize about the needed classrooms. Maybe a gymnasium is icing on the cake.”
Alameda has a daughter at San Juan School and a son at Anzar.
“I can’t say enough good things about Anzar,” she said.
Alameda voted for the bond measure in 2002, and the failed bond measure in 2006, she said.
She does not know whether she will vote for the bond this year.
“Just new facilities are not the answer,” Alameda said. “I think API scores need to be addressed. I think declining enrollment needs to be addressed.”
API is a standard measure of school performance applied by the state.
Alameda said she expected test scores at San Juan School to improve as a result of the 2002 bond. That has not happened, she said.
Although it is easier to see in hindsight, the COP should have been paid off in 2002, she said.
“I would have paid that off,” she said.
It is not a good time to ask people to raise their taxes, she said.
“Is there ever a good time to ask for more money?” Alameda asked. “People are struggling to keep their homes. Gas is over $3 a gallon.”
Why district officials are asking for construction money at a time when they are already in debt is a question that has not been answered to Alameda’s satisfaction, she said.
In December, a committee consisting of a school board member, students, parents, supervisors and other district staff evaluated which construction needs at the schools were most important, Muñoz said.
Based on those identified needs, there are three options for the bond, Muñoz said. Board members were to choose which bond option they will support at a Feb. 6 meeting, which took place after press time.
The cheapest option presented to the board would include fewer construction projects at a cost of $13.87 million, Muñoz said. The medium level bond, at $18.3 million, would include a few more, Muñoz said.
The $21.9 million option is the “Cadillac” option, Muñoz said.
California law limits the amount of bond debt districts can carry, Muñoz said. The most expensive option would cost nearly as much as the district could get.
“I’m recommending that we go to the middle plan,” Muñoz said.
Munoz’ preferred plan would pay for some of the identified needs at various schools, Muñoz said.
At Anzar High School, the medium priced bond would pay for the construction of six new classrooms and a cafeteria, at a total cost of $7.56 million, according to documents from Muñoz.
Three permanent classrooms would be built at Aromas and the multi-purpose room would be modernized, according to documents. Construction would cost $5.27 million, according to the documents.
Various facilities in San Juan would be modernized, including four middle school classrooms, kitchen, multi-purpose room, restrooms and staff room, according to the documents. Construction would cost nearly $1 million, according to the documents.
In addition to the $1.6 million to pay off the COP, soft costs/furniture would cost nearly 2.9 million, according to the documents.
Construction costs in San Juan would be stable across all three options, according to the documents.
“My issue with the bond is that I don’t think that it’s equitable in terms of what it provides the residents of San Juan Bautista,” Halla said.
Referring to San Juan Bautista, he said, “We have our own problems and we need to address them, so why should we be asked to take care of the needs of another community?”
Calling the distribution “a little lopsided,” Munoz said the construction needs are greater at Anzar and Aromas.
District officials held two town hall meetings about the bond measure, one in San Juan and the other in Aromas.
There were 15 to 20 people in attendance at both meetings, Muñoz said.
“It was a mixed feeling about the bond,” she said. “There was concern about raising taxes at this time.”
Due to the relatively small turnout, opinions expressed at the meeting might not be representative of the entire community, Muñoz said.
On Feb. 27, members “will consider passing a resolution to put out a bond measure,” she said.
“Once the resolution is passed,” Muñoz said, “no campaigning can be done on school time.”
Last year’s bond measure failed by 70 votes, she said.
“The turnout of parents was very low,” Muñoz said.
To ensure that the bond measure passes, campaigning will start early, she said.
“We have a large absentee voting rate,” Muñoz said. “By May we have to have made contact with people.”
March and April will be heavy campaigning months, Muñoz said.
District officials set up the Committee for Successful Schools to solicit donations and volunteers for the campaign, she said.
“No school funds can be used,” Muñoz said. “It’s all done by donation. We’re just gathering donations at this point.”
Volunteers will run the campaign, she said.
“We have had, in the past, 50 volunteers,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz described the 2002 bond as phase one.
“The board knew that we’d have to go out for another measure,” Muñoz said.
Money from Measure S paid for construction at Anzar High School, San Juan School and Aromas, Munoz said.
It paid for the transportation and maintenance building at Anzar High, the bus barn and vocational building, Munoz said.
At San Juan School, five clusters of classrooms were renovated; the library, media center and administration building were refurbished and the parking lots were reconfigured, she said.
At Aromas, four wings were refurbished and a gymnasium built, she said.
