Voters cast ballots at the Santa Cruz County government building on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz on Monday. (Allison Garcia — Santa Cruz Local)

LIVE OAK >> Measure P in Soquel Union Elementary School District appeared headed toward passage by a small margin in updated election results. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 12, Measure N in Live Oak School District and Measure R in Central Fire District remained short of the margins needed to win.

The Live Oak and Soquel Union Elementary school bonds each need more than 55% of the vote to be adopted. As of Nov. 12, Measure P had 55.81% support, and Measure N had 47.56% support.

As of Nov. 12, Central Fire District’s bond measure was falling short of the 66.7% approval with 57.12% of the vote. Proposition 5 would have lowered the threshold for bond measures like Measure R to 55% voter approval. California voters rejected the proposition in the Nov. 5 election, according to the Associated Press.

More vote tallies are expected this month. The election must be certified in early December.

Live Oak Measure N

Measure N asked voters in Live Oak School District whether to approve $45 million in bonds to build below-market-rate housing for teachers and other school district employees.

• Property owners would be taxed about $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value until the $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. 
• School district leaders said they do not plan to demolish the school-district-owned senior center on Capitola Road to build the housing, but they did not rule it out.

Opponents of the measure 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. For years, the district planned to build housing on the senior center site. 

Live Oak School Board President Kristin Pfotenhauer has said they are looking at an alternative site for the housing and have no immediate plans to demolish the senior center.

Soquel Union Elementary’s Measure P 

Measure P asked voters whether to approve $73 million in bonds to install artificial turf fields, renovate classrooms, upgrade food-service facilities and repair roofs and other infrastructure at Soquel Union Elementary School District’s four schools.

Property owners in the school district would pay up to $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually until the bonds are paid off in about 35 years. 

Soquel Union Superintendent Scott Turnbull said during the campaign that his top priority was to revamp the fields at the district’s three elementary schools. He said they were in “deplorable condition,” largely because of gopher holes. 

Other priority areas for the district include repairing leaky roofs, replacing outdated windows and rotting wood siding, painting the exteriors of at least two schools, upgrading food-service facilities and improving IT infrastructure, Turnbull said. 

Central Fire’s Measure R 

Measure R would allow the Central Fire District to issue $221 million in bonds to renovate or build fire department facilities and buy new equipment. The district includes much of mid-Santa Cruz County, including Capitola, Soquel, Aptos, Live Oak, La Selva Beach and Rio Del Mar.

Property owners in the district would pay about $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually for 30 years or until the bond is paid off. The average annual cost for homeowners would be about $200, according to a Central Fire report. 

At least three of Central Fire’s seven stations may need to be replaced or relocated, said Fire Chief Jason Nee, during the campaign.

According to a 2022 long-range master plan for the district, Soquel, Capitola and La Selva fire stations don’t meet the needs of modern firefighting. All three are more than 50 years old. “Their useful life is well passed by,” Nee said.

Money is also needed to replace aging fire engines, Nee said. The master plan found two of the department’s seven fire engines, and all three of its wildland fire trucks, to be in “poor” condition. Engine costs have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic, Nee said.

Read more

• Would Measure N demolish a Live Oak senior center for teacher housing? — Oct. 2, 2024
• Central Fire to pay out nearly $1 million in firefighters’ brawl — Oct. 11, 2024
• Election Guide: Measure N – Live Oak school bond
• Election Guide: Measure P – Soquel Union Elementary school bond
• Election Guide: Measure R – Central Fire bond

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