Central Unified tries again with bond measure

Published online on Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2008

Central Unified voted unanimously Tuesday to pursue a $152 million school bond in the Nov. 4 election and has hired a San Francisco firm to help.

In the June 3 election, a similar school bond fell 16 votes short of passing. Supporters blamed the poor economy and low election turnout.

Measure E appeared to have barely passed on Election Day, but after about 1,000 provisional ballots were counted in the weeks following, the measure received 54.79% voter approval, just short of the required 55%.

The bond measure would finance a new high school, middle school and two elementary campuses, as well as renovations and improvements at existing campuses.

Supporters say a school bond is necessary to keep up with growth in the district, which is centered in northwest Fresno, mostly west of Highway 99. Fueled by massive subdivision growth, the Central Unified School District has expanded by at least 400 students annually in recent years and expects to attract 4,000 additional students by 2013. The district has 14,195 students.

But opponents in a written statement on the June ballot questioned how the $40 million bond measure passed in 2004 was spent, and said the new measure would cost senior citizens on fixed incomes thousands of dollars.

The proposed 20-year bond measure would cost property owners in the district a maximum of $60 a year per $100,000 of assessed value.

Opponents of the measure that failed on the June ballot could not be reached to comment on the board's plan to pursue a new bond.

The vote was 6-0, with board member Mike Yada arriving after the vote.

The board also voted 6-0 to hire financial adviser Dale Scott & Co. to assist in bond planning at a cost not to exceed $25,000, said Mike Berg, the district's chief business officer. Developer fees will be used to pay the consultant, Berg said.

Under a separate contract not financed by the district, Dale Scott also may assist the outside committee that is expected to be formed to lead the campaign for the new bond measure, Berg said.