DEAR EDITOR:
I was very disappointed that The Dispatch could not support the
passage of state Proposition 55, the school construction and
modernization bond.
DEAR EDITOR:
I was very disappointed that The Dispatch could not support the passage of state Proposition 55, the school construction and modernization bond. This bond is the second half of the $25 billion measure that the state legislature approved for ballot measures over a three-year period.
The Gilroy Unified School District has reaped tremendous benefits from these state bonds. The district has received $7,068,088 from the state bond monies for the modernization projects at Glen View Elementary, El Roble Elementary, South Valley Middle and Brownell Middle School. These monies represent 68 percent of the total costs for the construction funds expended on the modernization of these schools.
The state bond monies paid to the district for the construction of Solorsano Middle School were $8,849,102. This project could not have been completed without the monies from the state bonds.
The Office of Public School Construction is the approving agency for determining the eligibility as to the amount of funding a project receives. The Gilroy Unified School District has received the maximum amount of funding for all the above projects. The local control that is needed to garner these funds comes from the district having a strong commitment to ensure that our school facilities are quality learning centers. This commitment is outlined in the district’s 25-Year Facilities Master Plan.
The current Proposition 55 bond will support the projects that the district will be completing in the near future in the amount of approximately $14,000,000. This total, when combined with monies received in past two years, represents $30,000,000 of state funds received from these bonds by the district in support of its 25-Year Facilities Master Plan.
The citizens of Gilroy have passed local bonds measures in support of the Facility Master Plan. These local revenues ensure that the district has its share of funds to match the state share that are generated by the passage of Proposition 55. The Gilroy Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution supporting the passage of Proposition 55.
I urge all citizens of Gilroy to vote in favor of the passage of Proposition 55 and continue the commitment to provide quality learning centers to all the children of Gilroy.
Charlie Van Meter, Director of Facilities Planning and Construction
Gilroy Unified School District
Submitted Wednesday, Feb. 25 to ed****@****ic.com
