Fresno, Clovis school districts seek $900 million in new bonds. The Bee’s recommendation | Opinion

This fall 10 school districts across Fresno County are asking voters to approve $1.3 billion in new bonds.

From Firebaugh to Parlier, the districts need to make repairs and renovate school buildings, as well as replace old plumbing and electrical systems. Energy and technology upgrades are planned. New classrooms are also needed to keep up with enrollment.

Why do school districts pay for new construction through bonds? The simple answer is that there really isn’t any other way for kindergarten-through-12-grade districts to do it. The percentage in state funding given to districts each year for preventative maintenance is woefully short of the need. Yet the Fresno Unified School District, the third-largest district in California, has about $2.5 billion in renovation and maintenance needs, and that number just keeps growing.

The two biggest bond measures on the Nov. 5 ballot are in Fresno and Clovis.

Fresno Unified has Measure H. It asks voters to back $500 million in new bonds. For the Clovis Unified School District, Measure A would issue $400 million in bonds. Both measures require approval by 55% of those casting ballots.

The Editorial Board interviewed school officials in Fresno and Clovis about their measures, and came away impressed with how well the proposals are organized. The needs in both districts are significant, and The Bee Editorial Board recommends voters approve Measure H and Measure A.

Here are more details on the measures in Fresno and Clovis.

Fresno Unified’s Measure H

The first thing to know is that 67% of the district’s schools were built before 1970. Paul Idsvoog, Fresno Unified’s chief of operations, said some campuses date to the 1920s and still rely on clay pipes in their plumbing systems.

Such outdated plumbing could suffer a major failure at any moment, leaving a school without water. That is a chief concern of interim Superintendent Misty Her. “The last thing we need is to have 800 kids to not be able to go on (a campus) because we’ve got plumbing out at a school,” she said.

While the project list for the bond is still being finalized, updating plumbing, heating-cooling and electrical systems is a key focus. So too is improving student safety. That means creating single access points and improving pedestrian routes at campuses.

Fresno Unified has more than 1,000 portables, and some are sinking because they were originally placed on dirt, not a cement pad. So outdated portables would be replaced.

In addition, Measure H funds would establish a 17-acre farm for a new plant and animal science program. And an aviation academy at Chandler Airport would be created so students could learn about aviation and even earn a pilot’s license at graduation.

The monies would be spent among the district’s seven high school areas, but would be prioritized so that greatest needs would be handled first, Idsvoog explained.

The bond is the largest ever sought by Fresno Unified, and would be an average annual charge of $58 per $100,000 of assessed property value. The highest the rate would go is $60 per year; the bond repayment would run through 2065-66.

To put it another way: The maximum aggregate tax that property owners will pay for Fresno Unified bonds would be $238.86 per year.

No teachers or other staff would be paid for by the bond. Rather, “it is just looking at, how do we provide safer schools,” said Her. “How do we update our classrooms for learning, and repair and upgrade our schools so that we can really prepare our students for careers that have yet to be imagined?”

The answer, Her explained, is Measure H.

Clovis Unified’s Measure A

The district needs to finish building its newest high school, Clovis South, which is part of the Terry Bradley Educational Center at Highland and Clinton avenues. Part of the $400 million bond will do just that so students can begin attending the Sanchez Intermediate School in 2025. Sanchez Intermediate will feed grades 7-9 into Clovis South.

A citizens committee advised the Clovis school board on how large the bond issue should be and for what it can be used. Repairing and renovating is a major task — 30 of the district’s 55 schools are more than 30 years old.

New schools will also be funded from the bond, and energy, technology and safety upgrades will be made.

Todd Cook, chair of the citizens committee, said a key aspect to the bond is that it won’t raise the tax rates paid by district residents. The rate — $155 per $100,000 of assessed valuation — will remain the same, the level it has stayed at since 2012. This despite the fact the district has a need for $550 million in facility work.

Yes on Measures H and A

The argument against both bond measures is from the Libertarian Party. It accuses public officials of corruption and misuse of public funds. Is it political screed? Yes. Does it address the measures specifically? No. Its relevance is dubious.

It bears repeating: There isn’t another good option for districts to get the funding they need to repair and modernize their schools. The students of today — and tomorrow — deserve safe, updated campuses in which to learn.

Add in the state requirement that school bonds have independent citizens oversight to make sure they are being spent correctly, and voting in support makes sense. Fresno and Clovis voters should pass Measures H and A.

This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 2:47 PM.