About $110 billion in school bond measures have passed in California since 2001 when Proposition 39 brought about a new era of schools borrowing money, according to a recent California Policy Agency report.
CPC, a nonprofit educational foundation, claims that in many cases school bonds are not necessary and that their continued use is building up major debt for taxpayers. Local school districts, however, describe Prop 39 as “beneficial,” citing specific projects that its passage helped them fund.
Prop 39, also known as the School Facilities Local Vote Act of 2001, had the primary impact of reducing the threshold required to pass district bond issues from a two-thirds supermajority vote to 55 percent. Prior to this, about 60 percent of local school bond ballot questions succeeded in getting the two-thirds vote, but since the prop’s passage, about 75 percent of districts' bonds are passing thanks to the 55 percent requirement.
CPC Executive Director Ed Ring told the Daily Press that CPC wanted to find out through its report “how much Californians have signed up for” in terms of how much debt taxpayers could be facing in the future as a result of bonds.
Ring brought up large purchases that have trended through districts in recent years, such as iPads, artificial turf for fields, and solar energy projects, all of which he maintained are fiscally irresponsible.
Energy projects and providing Chromebooks for students in grades 2 through 6 were among the purchases Victor Elementary School District made through bonds since their Measure E passed under Prop 39, authorizing $150 million in bonds for the district.
“This was very beneficial to California’s school districts, enabling many that had not been able to pass bond measures to access funding to build new schools and modernize older facilities,” VESD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Debbie Betts said.
Betts said that to date, VESD has accessed $36 million of the $150 million authorized, and that projects that this funding has gone to in the district include “energy efficiencies, electrical upgrades, safety, modernization of aging facilities, and upgrades to technology.”
The 9,150 Chromebooks the district purchased last year cost over $2.5 million, and “are being integrated into everyday activities in the classroom to enrich the learning environment,” Betts said.
Ring said his opposition to purchases of technology like Chromebooks or iPads could be summed up by asking the question: “Will they last longer than the payment terms?”
He said the debt induced by such purchases may far outlast the length of time that the products are viable.
Barstow Unified School District also reaped the benefits of Prop 39 back in 2001, although since its Measure C was approved for a $14 million general obligation bond for the reconstruction and renovation of Barstow High School, the district hasn't placed any others on the ballot.
“Our district benefited from the passage of Prop 39 as Measure C would have failed under the two-thirds majority,” BUSD Superintendent Jeff Malan said.
He also noted the importance of full project evaluation before looking at bonds.
“I believe each district must strategically plan and assess priorities and projects before consideration of a bond measure and what is sustainable long-term,” Malan said.
The CPS report calls for more oversight and increased transparency in bond issues, stressing the importance of educating voters.
The report states that the bonds perpetuate conflicts of interest with contractors that might benefit from the bond approval.
“I think they have to do the hard work and find out who the good quality shops are,” Ring said. “They shouldn’t just take the easy way out.”
Ring said that the extra money spent through bonds in recent years is not correlated with better education.
“We should be worried more about teacher accountability and less about whether there is solar electricity or Astroturf on school campuses,” Ring that. “We shouldn’t be worried about what the classes are made of, but what’s in the classes.”
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