Clovis Unified’s Measure A falls short. See Fresno County school bond results
Fresno Unified’s $500 million school bond appeared headed toward approval, while support for Clovis Unified’s $400 million bond to build a new high school and intermediate school fell just short of the required 55% voter approval threshold, according to the latest ballot returns.
The Fresno and Clovis school bonds headlined the dozen Fresno County school bonds on the November ballot that would raise a combined $1.3 billion for facilities spending. Voters appeared to support majority of school bonds, according to ballot returns tallied as of 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The latest reports from the Fresno County Clerk show Fresno Unified’s Measure H had 61.69% approval. Clovis Unified voters, meanwhile, cast “yes” votes in 54.96% of ballot returns for Measure A — a percentage that sat 0.04 percentage points below the required 55% voter approval. Central Unified’s Measure X had 61.65% voter approval in the county’s latest returns.
Here are the results as of Wednesday morning.
Fresno Unified’s $500M Measure H
Fresno Unified’s largest-ever $500 million bond would prioritize repairs for schools in the worst condition, as well as add fences and single-point entrances for schools, replace aging portables and ensure schools comply with ADA accessibility requirements.
The area’s current tax rate of $213.86 is the second highest of all K-12 school districts in Fresno County. If Measure H passes, the rate will rise to $238.86.
Fresno Unified interim Superintendent Misty Her said the bond’s success “is an affirmation to our students that people really do believe and are willing to invest in them.”
“It sends a message to our students that our community believes in our students and our staff and in what we do in Fresno Unified,” Her told The Bee on Wednesday morning. “I just want to thank the thousands of residents who participated in the election, because it’s going to help us continue the momentum that we’ve built in our district, and especially, the whole premise behind measure H was better classrooms, better learning so great teaching and learning environments are going to allow us to do that.”
Measure H was the most contested K-12 school bond in the county leading up to the election.
Susan Wittrup, Fresno Unified’s board president, opposed the bond, as did Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias, former Fresno Unified Trustee Brooke Ashjian, and Granville Homes developer Darius Assemi. Opponents criticized the bond’s increase in property taxes and its allocation plan because it would mean some affluent areas, such as the Bullard region, would get less funding than their taxpayers paid into the bond.
The six other school board members defended the district’s public engagement process and supported the bond’s focus on equity. Supporters also included the Fresno Teachers Association, Fresno Chamber of Commerce, and the League of Women Voters of Fresno.
Clovis Unified’s $400M Measure A
The district’s $400 million Measure A would go toward modernizing school facilities and safety and technology improvements. District leaders say they need to pass the bond to finish construction of the new Clovis South High School.
No increase will be added to the current tax rates of $155 per $100,000 of assessed property value if the new bond passes. It’s an extension of the district’s existing school bond, and Clovis Unified’s tax rate has not been changed since 2012.
“We remain hopeful that late voting returns will push us over the 55% needed for Measure A’s success because it is critical for our community’s future,” Clovis Unified Superintendent Corrine Folmer said in a statement Tuesday night.
The Clovis Unified bond was 25 votes below the approval threshold with 67,251 ballots counted (about 48%) as of 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Fresno County Clerk.
“If however, in the end, voters tell us that now is not the time for this investment in our kids, then we will go back to the drawing board to find solutions to overcrowding in the southern areas of our district- solutions that would not be able to rely on a new high school in that area. We will also need to reevaluate timelines for major maintenance and modernization projects that are on the Measure A project list given that we won’t have funds to complete needed repairs and updates,” Folmer said in a Wednesday morning statement.
With the inflation and rising construction costs, the district is running out of funds to finish the academic buildings for the new educational center that will house Clovis South High.
About $180 million from the new bond would be earmarked for construction, according to the school district. The district budgeted $250 million for the project in the last bond and has invested $330 million in the construction so far.
District spokesperson Kelly Avants said in an earlier interview that if the bond fails, the district has enough funds to complete construction of the middle school and some shared facilities on time to receive students next year.
“So we definitely want our community to understand that it was a thoughtfully put together budget at the time, and we are really caught in a situation as anyone else who started trying to build something before the pandemic and is trying to finish it after the pandemic, that the costs have escalated beyond anything that we have seen in modern history,” said Avants.
Central Unified’s $109M Measure X
Central Unified’s bond measure would make repairs to the district’s aging schools. According to the district’s project list, five elementary schools and two high schools would be modernized if the bond passes, renewing classrooms, libraries, cafeterias, admin buildings and other school facilities.
A new agricultural lab would also be constructed at Central High School.
Central Unified’s current tax rate is $222.03 per $100,000 of assessed property value. If Measure X passes, a lower tax rate of $215.57 will be extended.
Located at the western edge of Fresno, Central Unified is the fastest-growing school district in the Fresno area with over 16,000 students enrolled last academic year. The district opened a new high school in 2021 and is in the process of building a new elementary school. With some schools over 75 years old, the district just redrew its attendance boundary maps in the spring to re-balance enrollment at schools, which will go into effect for the 2025-26 school year.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 9:51 PM.
