Live Oak School District owns the Elena Baskin Live Oak Senior Center. (Grace Stetson — Santa Cruz Local file)
LIVE OAK >> Measure N would allow Live Oak School District to borrow $45 million to build housing for teachers and other employees, but some nonprofit leaders and seniors worry that it could lead to the demolition of a senior center the district owns.
School district leaders said they do not plan to demolish the Elena Baskin Live Oak Senior Center at 1777 Capitola Road, but they did not rule it out.
“Our ideal thing would be to find a different site, and we do have a site in mind,” said Kristin Pfotenhauer, president of the Live Oak School Board. If Measure N is not approved and the school does not have bond money for the project, the school district might need to build housing on the senior center site, she said.
“I don’t know if we would be able to afford that, but there’s no way we can afford to do it anywhere else if we don’t pass the bond,” Pfotenhauer said. “Passing the bond actually increases the likelihood of the senior center staying where it is. It doesn’t guarantee that, but it does increase the likelihood.”
What is Measure N?
Measure N on the Nov. 5 ballot asks Live Oak School District voters whether to tax property owners about $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value until $45 million in bonds are paid off.
The money would help the school district build housing for school district employees. It could buy land or build or improve classrooms, playgrounds and utilities, according to the ballot language. Measure N money cannot be used for teacher or administrator salaries.
The bond measure requires more than 55% voter approval. Measure N would create an independent committee to oversee spending, and would require annual independent audits.
Proponents of Measure N said a workforce housing project could provide up to 50 below-market-rate homes to Live Oak School District employees who may otherwise struggle to find housing they can afford.
Santa Cruz County’s high rents leave “a lot of teachers out of the market, and classified personnel are definitely underwater in terms of trying to find housing, unless they have a partner who makes a lot more money than they do,” said Kristin Pfotenhauer, president of the Live Oak School Board. “I even had a teacher who lived with me for about two years before he found housing. I’ve known teachers that lived in cars.”
Because teachers struggle to afford housing, many don’t stay in the district very long before moving to a more affordable area, she said. The district is “constantly spending money and resources training young teachers,” she said. “Then they are moving on, and another district is benefiting from that.”
Opponents of Measure N said the housing development could displace the Elena Baskin Live Oak Senior Center at 1777 Capitola Road. Live Oak School District owns the property and rents it to two senior services nonprofits. Senior Network Services connects older adults with housing and other resources, and Community Bridges’ Meals on Wheels program delivers meals to older adults.
For years, the district planned to build housing on the senior center site. The two nonprofits received six-month eviction notices in 2022, but the school board has since granted multiple lease extensions.
The senior center has “been the hub of Santa Cruz County services for the past 45 years,”
said Clay Kempf, the executive director of the Seniors Council of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties. The Seniors Council gives funding and support to both nonprofit tenants.
“It’s on a bus line. It has plenty of parking. It has easy access for a population that often has accessibility issues,” Kempf said. Relocating those services would be difficult for both the nonprofits and their clients, he said.
Pfotenhauer say they are looking at an alternative site for the housing and have no immediate plans to demolish the senior center.
What will happen to the senior center?
In August, the Live Oak School Board approved a two-year lease with Community Bridges in which Community Bridges agreed to pay for several repairs. Senior Network Services remains on a month-to-month lease.
District and nonprofit leaders have discussed incorporating a senior center into the new workforce housing project on the site but haven’t come to an agreement.
“I really wish there’d be a win-win partnership that benefits schools and seniors that comes out of this effort. Unfortunately, that’s not the situation we’re facing right now,” Kempf said.
In an official ballot argument against the measure, Kempf and others wrote that the center would be demolished as soon as Measure N passes. Pfotenhauer said that’s not true.
If the district is not able to find an alternative site for workforce housing, it could legally break the two-year lease with Community Bridges and replace the senior center, Pfotenhauer said. “I don’t know that we would,” she said.
Both tenants would be profoundly affected by displacement, nonprofit leaders said.
Community Bridges is searching for another site for the Meals on Wheels program, and has identified a potential property to buy in Watsonville. Buying the property and building a commercial kitchen would cost around $5 million, said Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino. To bear the cost, Meals on Wheels would reduce the number of people it serves to 1,600 from 1,800, he said.
Regardless of how residents vote on Measure N, Community Bridges plans to buy a new facility to “no longer be at the whim of any landlords,” Cancino said.
Community Bridges has not taken a position on Measure N.
“We don’t want to stand in the way of [Measure N], while at the same time, we do want to make sure that the public is aware of the implications,” Cancino said. “Either the children will lose out and potentially lose good teachers, while at the same time, if it passes, it can endanger the sustainability of how we operate on Meals on Wheels in this county.”
Other recent ballot measures in Live Oak School District
In March 2024, voters approved Measure H in Live Oak School District. It allowed the sale of $44 million in bonds to pay for buildings and facilities upgrades. Property owners in Live Oak School District pay an annual tax of about $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value for about 30 years until the bonds are paid.
Measure H needed more than 55% and was adopted with 63.52% of the vote.
Measure H money approved in March cannot be used to build the school district’s workforce housing.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Elizabeth Schilling’s title. Community Bridges’ position on Measure N also has been clarified.
Read more
- Read Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide to Measure N
- Measure N full text, impartial analysis and official ballot arguments
- Measure N resolution
Read about other mid-county elections
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Jesse Kathan is a staff reporter for Santa Cruz Local through the California Local News Fellowship. They hold a master's degree in science communications from UC Santa Cruz.
