Several presentations at the last school board meeting painted a
grim picture of the district’s facilities needs and its sources of
funding, or lack thereof.
Watch a video of a presentation on the prospect of the school
district passing a bond.
Several presentations at the last school board meeting painted a grim picture of the district’s facilities needs and its sources of funding, or lack thereof.
The $25 million gap in funding for the Christopher High School project district officials reported back in April has swelled to $35.7 million when all district projects are taken into account, Interim Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Hardy Childers reported. That shortfall plus the cost of building Phase II of CHS – a project that will cost nearly $55 million including a $12 million escalation factor – puts the district’s fiscal needs at $90 million.
Following Childers’ update, Ann Nock, representing George K. Baum & Company, presented her firm’s findings following two voter opinion surveys that gauged the community’s reaction to endorsing a school bond or parcel tax on the November ballot. The firm conducted 400 interviews for each survey with scientifically-selected samples, Nock said. The samples were selected to “mimic” the voter profile expected for the November election.
According to Nock’s findings, Gilroy’s voters were not receptive to passing a parcel tax to fund operations. Only 50 percent of those surveyed said they would definitely or probably vote for a parcel tax and only 52 percent were willing to name a price they would pay. Passing a parcel tax requires a two thirds vote.
However, 69 percent of those surveyed said they would definitely or probably vote to pass a bond at a rate of $60 per year per $100,000 of assessed home value. The bond requires 55 percent approval from the voters. It would replace and reduce the Measure J tax rate of $70.50 per $100,000, which sunsets in 2011.
Board members expressed approval and relief that the survey revealed a positive outlook.
“A lot of pieces to the puzzle came together tonight,” Board President Rhoda Bress said. Like her fellow trustees, she supported moving forward with the bond but recognized that several obstacles must be hurdled – like educating the public and promoting the campaign – before November.
At this point, a bond appears to be the only solution to the district’s growing needs. At the beginning of the night, the board was fretting about the $25 million CHS gap. Once Childers delivered the news of the overall facilities gap, several trustees’ jaws dropped.
“It’s very disheartening that we’ve jumped another $10 million in facilities (needs) in a matter of months,” Trustee Jaime Rosso said. “We’re blindsided by this.”
“Some of these options aren’t options,” Trustee Denise Apuzzo said, gesturing to a list the board received detailing several alternatives like shutting down the CHS project or drastically reducing its scope. “Going for the bond is where we’re headed.”
“The options are limited,” Childers acknowledged. “I wish I could give you a menu of options but they’re no prettier now than they were back in April.”
Apuzzo expressed her concern with the community’s perception of the board.
“We have such a credibility issue with the community,” she said. “We’re wringing out hands over a $25 million gap. Now it’s truly $35 million.”
The bond survey asked residents whether or not they thought the state and Gilroy Unified School District in particular were “going in the right direction.” The results were nearly tied, with 38 percent of those surveyed responding that GUSD was headed in the “right” direction and 39 percent saying it was going in the “wrong” direction. In comparison, only 19 percent of respondents believed the state was headed in the right direction and 69 percent felt the opposite. A majority of voters gave medium or high priority to completing CHS, followed by slightly less support for upgrading other school facilities.
When Bress asked if the board should prepare itself for any future surprises, Superintendent Deborah Flores said that every project the district knows about has been accounted for.
The conversation ended on a high note with trustees expressing support for moving forward with more definite plans at the next board meeting.
“I’m excited,” Trustee Javier Aguirre said. “I’m looking forward to celebrating on Nov. 4.”
