October 20, 2006

ESD hopes to deliver best schools possible with Measure I

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Among the candidates, propositions and initiatives on the Nov. 7 ballot is Measure I, a bond issue for Evergreen’s elementary and middle schools.

Measure I will authorize the Evergreen Elementary School District to sell bonds of up to $150 million to finance classroom/education facilities improvements, school facilities and energy, security and technology upgrades for its 18 schools, the Rouleau Children Center, the new school industrial site and the new Arcadia School site. It also will upgrade district support facilities.

“We need this measure for the next 10 years. We are on the cutting edge [as a district], and our community expects it, and I want continue to deliver it,” superintendent Clif Black said about the 15 elementary and three middle schools in the Evergreen Elementary School District.

If passed, the measure will expand educational opportunities to students by increasing space for pre-school and after school programs, add computers to classrooms and upgrade science labs as well as upgrade and modernize school libraries.

It will also improve school safety and create positive learning environments by upgrading fire safety and security lighting, improving playground and field safety and replacing portable classrooms with modern classrooms, according to the district.

To ensure the funds are spent only for facilities projects listed in the bond project list, the district plans to establish an independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee within 60 days after the election results appear in the board’s minutes. The school board will conduct an annual independent audit and annual financial audits.

The district has passed two bond measures within the last 20 years. The 1997 measure, which passed with a 77.4 percent majority, modernized 10 schools, built two new schools and added classrooms for the district’s class size reduction program. A bond measure in 1989 set a state record, passing with 81.9 percent of the vote.

According to the district, facility needs are growing. Some schools were built in the 1960s and 70s and require plumbing and air conditioning upgrades. The need for pre-school and after school programs has grown substantially in the past 10 years. Also, technology is constantly growing and changing and district officials want Evergreen schools to provide the most modern technology and science equipment to ensure academic excellence.

Money for the schools will be allocated by need, allowing the older schools to improve and update their facilities. But all of the district schools will be given funds from the measure, allowing for computer and science equipment purchases for newer schools.

“It is my mission to deliver the very best I can,” said Black, who added that Evergreen voters trust the district since it has “delivered on all our promises and is clearly proactive and looking toward the future.”

The measure needs 55 percent approval by all school district voters in order to pass. Principal and interest on the bonds will be paid by using tax levies on properties within the district. According to the district, the taxes required to fund the bond issue would be based on assessed valuations of homes on July 20 at $5 per $100,000 of assessed valuation in the fiscal 2007-08 year. Black stressed that the “tax rates are based on the assessed value of taxable property in the district as shown on the Santa Clara County official tax rolls, and not the property’s market value.”
Black said he didn’t want to think about what would happen if the bond measure fails.

“The district can’t rely on state funds. It’s my mission to deliver the very best I can to our students,” he said. “We’ve always taken care of ourselves. If the bond passes, the money will stay in Evergreen.”

If the measure doesn’t pass, the district can’t ensure it will be able to build onto its success, Black said. There will be no money for added space for after school programs or for added computers or replacing dated science equipment, nor will there be the necessary fire, safety and plumbing improvements or replacement of failing air conditioning and electrical systems, he added.

For more information about the initiative visit the Web site at www.voteyesonmeasureI.com, or check out Smart Voter at www.smartvoter.org.