Measure J – Pacific Elementary School District $675,000 bond
Voters in Pacific Elementary School District will decide whether to approve $675,000 in bonds with Measure J in the March 5 election. The district is on the North Coast roughly from Davenport to Año Nuevo State Park. It includes one school, Pacific Elementary.
The measure needs more than 55% of the vote to be adopted.
Pacific Elementary School District trustees placed Measure I and Measure J on the ballot in hopes that at least one would be adopted by voters, school district leaders said. Measure I aims to raise $1.3 million in bonds and Measure J aims to raise $675,000 in bonds.
What is Measure J?
Measure J would allow the school district to issue $675,000 in bonds to replace and repair school buildings and other facilities. Property owners in the district would pay about $18 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually for 30 years or until the bond is paid off.
Measure J as it appears on the March 5 ballot:
To repair or replace leaky roofs; modernize and upgrade outdated classrooms, restrooms, and school facilities; update playgrounds and playfields; and replace aging school facilities; shall the Pacific Elementary School District measure authorizing $675,000 of bonds at legal rates be adopted, generating on average $50,000 annually while bonds are outstanding at a projected rate of approximately $18 per $100,000 assessed value, with annual audits, citizens’ oversight, NO money for salaries and all money staying local?
What would Measure J do?
If Measure J is adopted:
- The school district would issue $675,000 in bonds. The money would be spent on repairs and upgrades to school buildings and other facilities.
- Property owners in Pacific Elementary School District would pay an annual tax of about $18 per $100,000 of assessed property value for about 30 years until the bonds are paid off. Assessed value usually changes when the property is sold, and it is typically lower than the market value.
- School district leaders would create an oversight committee and complete an annual audit of bond expenditures.
What does a “yes” vote mean?
A “yes” vote would authorize an annual property tax within Pacific Elementary School District to fund $675,000 in bonds.
What would a “no” vote mean?
A “no” vote would not authorize a new property tax or bond.
Thing to consider about Measure J:
Pacific Elementary School District trustees placed two measures on the March 5 ballot.
Measure J:
- Would approve $675,000 in bonds.
- Would approve an annual property tax of about $18 per $100,000 of assessed value.
- Requires more than 55% voter approval.
Measure I:
- Would approve $1.3 million in bonds.
- Would approve an annual property tax of about $30 per $100,000 of assessed value.
- Requires more than 55% voter approval.
The separate measures aim to ensure that voters will approve at least one, said Eric Gross, principal of Pacific Elementary and superintendent of the school district.
State law allows money from bond sales to be used only for purposes related to:
- Facility construction or repair.
- School equipment.
- Purchase and lease of school property.
School bonds legally cannot be used to pay for other expenses, including teacher and administrator salaries.
The elementary school needs the money for urgent roof repairs, Gross said in a Feb. 1 interview. “As of the last rain, we had leaks in nine different places, and so we have buckets and trash cans in classrooms to catch the rain,” Gross said. In another building, steel supports are rusting through, he said.
Roof repairs are set to begin this summer. If voters reject both proposed bonds, the district plans to seek a bank loan, Gross said. But because bank loans have a higher interest rate than bonds, more dollars would go to interest and less to building repairs, he said.
In November 2012, voters in the school district approved $830,000 in bonds and an annual property tax of about $30 per $100,000 of assessed value. District property owners are still paying off the bond approved in 2012, and the tax remains in effect. The bonds paid for two new school buildings, Gross said. The 2012 bonds are expected to be paid off in 2042.
