V is for ‘violation of trust’
Voters in the Aromas-San Juan School District will vote on
Measure V, a facilities-improvement bond act, on June 3. We urge
a
”
No
”
vote.
The county Superintendent of Schools recently announced that,
should the district not repair its finances, the state may step in
to assume administration of the three-school district. It was in
2002 that voters in the district passed another bond, one that
allowed for improvements and renovation at all three schools,
including the first gymnasium ever at Aromas School. But district
officials then overlooked dilapidated portable classrooms that they
now claim must be renovated.
V is for ‘violation of trust’
Voters in the Aromas-San Juan School District will vote on Measure V, a facilities-improvement bond act, on June 3. We urge a “No” vote.
The county Superintendent of Schools recently announced that, should the district not repair its finances, the state may step in to assume administration of the three-school district. It was in 2002 that voters in the district passed another bond, one that allowed for improvements and renovation at all three schools, including the first gymnasium ever at Aromas School. But district officials then overlooked dilapidated portable classrooms that they now claim must be renovated.
The district returned to voters with another bond request last year. It was rejected.
The district’s recent performance, fiscal and academic, should worry families within its boundaries. Districtwide, standardized test scores are down. The district’s finances are so perilous that it may soon have to seek a loan from an outside source to meet basic expenses, including payroll.
It makes sense for voters to endorse renovation or replacement of aging portable classrooms, and to retire the small remaining debt on Anzar High School. But at a time when both the district and households within the district are challenged to meet routine expenses, a bind-financed building spree is almost criminally negligent.
Former district employee Ken Halla authoritatively explains elsewhere on this page why an $18.8 million bond measure is the wrong course. There’s time for the district to listen to the growing clamor coming from the families it purports to serve and to get back on course.
Voters in the Aromas-San Juan School District have already demonstrated their commitment to public education. There is no reason to believe that a more sensible approach, rooted in a proven ability to manage the district’s resources, cannot get the voters’ endorsement at the polls next November.
