Fresno Unified grateful for bond momentum while Clovis, Central not giving up hope yet
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The day after polls closed, Fresno Unified’s school bond was passing and picking up momentum, while bonds for Clovis and Central Unified lagged below the needed 55% threshold required to pass.
Clovis Unified held a watch party Tuesday night at the Field House in northeast Fresno, where district spokesperson Kelly Avants said she and about 100 others were still holding out hope for the bond to pass.
“We recognize that early voters are often the more conservative of the voters,” she said. “It’s a pretty small fraction of the total. We are hopeful that the numbers continue to climb.”
Central Unified spokesperson Sonja Dosti said her district’s measure was too close to make a call just yet.
“We’re encouraged that with each update from the election office (Tuesday), the percentage in support of Measure C increased,” she said. “Although the final results may not be available for a few days, based on (Tuesday’s) upward trend in favor of the bond, we remain hopeful about the outcome after the remaining ballots are counted.”
Measure M
Fresno Unified School District’s Measure M was making the cut with 57.9% voting yes, and district officials were cautious but grateful Wednesday morning as they thanked the community for their positive response.
“ ... to our beautiful Fresno residents, WE LOVE YOU,” Superintendent Bob Nelson wrote on Facebook. “Thanks for trusting your kids to us and for voting to give them the best of facilities!”
Other Valley school bonds
Kingsburg Joint High School District’s Measure E wasn’t meeting the 55% mark needed to pass as of current election information.
Washington Unified School District’s Measure H bond was also struggling in Fresno County with 53.3%.
The only bond showing enough early support was Parlier Unified’s Measure D, passing at 61.6%.
More than $1 billion at stake
Six different Fresno-area school districts asked voters to approve local bond funding on Tuesday, along with a statewide school bond on the ballot, which was not passing either with a 56% opposition.
Schools were hoping to grab matching funds when the statewide bond, Prop 13, passed.
In all, more than $1 billion is at stake for Fresno County schools.
The Fresno Bee Ed Lab examined the Fresno, Clovis and Central bonds to see how schools would spend the money.
Here is the breakdown of what the school districts in Fresno County are asking for.
- Fresno Unified School District: $325 million
- Clovis Unified School District: $408 million
- Central Unified School District: $120 million
- Washington Unified School District: $46 million
- Parlier Unified School District: $11 million
- Kingsburg Joint Union High School District: $17 million
In Fresno Unified, most of the schools were built prior to the 1970s and are in desperate need of facility updates.
For Clovis Unified, these bonds will be used for updating facilities and to build an entire new school since there is projected growth in East Clovis and the district wants to be sure students aren’t stuck in overcrowded classrooms.
In Central Unified School district the money would be distributed between the 22 schools as well as funding the completion of a high school and building an elementary school. The bond will cost homeowners more than the last bond Central passed.
Due to the 2008 housing crisis, Central Unified wasn’t able to pay back the bond and a high school which was supposed to be built then was not built. Officials are hoping this bond passes to apply for state funding, which is necessary to finish the potential projects.
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 8:38 PM.