Measure AA: La Mesa-Spring Valley School District bond
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Measure AA would authorize the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District to issue up to $131 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities. The district serves more than 10,500 students in preschool through eighth grade.
Bonds allow districts to borrow money, then raise property taxes to pay off the loan with interest. School bonds require a 55% yes vote to pass.
Eighteen of the district’s 21 schools are more than 60 years old, said Daniel Young, the district’s executive director of facilities planning and construction.
“Our newest campus was built in 1993. Our oldest campus was built in 1946,” Young told the school board at a June 16 meeting. “Eighty-one percent of our HVAC systems are basically at zero remaining useful life.”
The measure would generate $131 million in funding, according to the district. Passing the bond would also help the district qualify for matching funds from the state.
State law requires the district to create an independent citizens’ oversight committee and receive annual audits on how the district is spending the bond funds.
“In the state of California, in public education, this is how you maintain your buildings,” Superintendent David Feliciano said in June.
Voters approved a previous bond measure for the district’s facilities, Measure V, in 2020. The district has used that funding to improve security at its schools. Tina Douglas, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services, told the board that those projects are almost complete.
“We will no longer have facility funds to do any additional upgrades,” she said.
How it would work
- Measure AA would authorize the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District to issue up to $131 million in bonds.
- Property taxes would go up by an average of $22 per $100,000 of assessed property value until 2057.
- The total debt service, including the principal and interest, is estimated at nearly $258 million if all bonds are issued and sold.
Why is it on the ballot?
The La Mesa-Spring Valley School Board passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot in June.
What are the arguments for and against?
“Some schools were built so long ago that underground clay and cast-iron pipes and infrastructure are failing, resulting in gas leaks, water leaks, and sewage backups,” they wrote in an FAQ about the bond measure. “Last year alone, there were 95 roof leaks.”
The San Diego County Taxpayers Association supports the measure. The district has other funding sources, they wrote in their report, like its general fund and developer fees. But those funds are limited.
“Based on this evaluation, a general obligation bond was identified as the most appropriate and feasible mechanism to address the District's long-term facility needs without displacing instructional resources,” the association wrote.
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
- San Diego County Democratic Party
Top opponents
- Reform California
Measure BB: Santee School District bond
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Measure BB would authorize the Santee School District to issue up to $30 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities. The district serves about 6,000 students in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade.
Bonds allow districts to borrow money, then raise property taxes to pay off the loan with interest. School bonds require a 55% yes vote to pass.
Other potential projects include improving playgrounds, play fields and security fencing.
The district says it could also build a multipurpose center for physical education classes, afterschool programs and community events.
Voters approved two previous bond measures in 2006 and 2018, but that funding has run out, according to the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.
The district would also miss out on matching funds from the state. It’s one of the few ways to access state funding for school facility improvements.
How it would work
- Measure BB would authorize the Santee School District to issue up to $30 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities.
- Property taxes would go up by an average of $13 per $100,000 of assessed property value until 2050.
- The total debt service, including the principal and interest, would be nearly $50 million if all of the bonds are issued and sold.
Why is it on the ballot?
The Santee School Board passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot in June.
What are the arguments for and against?
“While the quality of education in District schools is outstanding and District schools have served the community well for decades, many local schools were built long ago and need upgrades to meet current safety standards and support current and future educational needs,” the board’s resolution reads.
The state doesn’t provide enough funding to repair and upgrade schools, they added.
The district’s financial advisor, Dale Scott, presented results of a voter survey on June 9. A spokesperson said the district only keeps meeting recordings for 30 days, but official meeting minutes are on the district’s website.
“Among positive arguments, voters responded most favorably to statements emphasizing no tax-rate increase, maintaining and updating existing schools, and avoiding more costly emergency repairs in the future,” the June 9 meeting minutes read.
He said voters also responded positively to taxpayer protections included in the bond measure. State law requires districts to seek annual audits and create a citizens’ oversight committee to monitor how the bond money is being spent.
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
“She also expressed concerns about projected soft costs, questioned the representativeness of the community survey, and emphasized that her vote reflects fiscal restraint, accountability, and respect for the prior election outcome,” the minutes read.
The district’s voter survey found that concerns about inflation and economic conditions were “less influential than anticipated,” according to the June 9 meeting minutes.
“Opposition arguments that resonated most strongly included concerns that districts should manage existing budgets more effectively before seeking additional funding and that bonds create long-term taxpayer obligations,” the minutes read.
Republican State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s group, Reform California, opposes nearly all school bond measures in the county, saying they impose “a new costly property tax despite massive levels of wasteful spending, giving government workers massive salary hikes and pension spikes, and awarding contracts to political supporters without fair and open competition.”
Top opponents
- Reform California
Measure G: A $624 million bond to fund construction projects in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
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The Grossmont Cuyamaca Community College District is asking voters to approve a $624 million loan to fund upgrades for major infrastructure projects on Grossmont and Cuyamaca College campuses such as wildfire safety upgrades, plumbing systems, building renovations and replacements.
Measure G would extend the taxes that East County property owners already pay through Measure R which passed in 2002 and is scheduled to end in 2031.
How it would work
The bond measure needs at least 55% of the votes to pass. The bonds can only be used for infrastructure needs and would not be used to pay teacher or administrator salaries or support other operating expenses, according to the district.
If Measure G passes, the district estimates commercial and residential property owners would continue to pay a tax of $24.67 per $100, 000 of the property’s assessed value for the next 30 years. The district’s board and a citizen’s oversight committee would audit the bond annually.
Cost
District officials estimate the bonds will cost taxpayers about $1.2 billion including principal and interest. Residential and commercial property owners will be taxed $24.67 per $100,000 of assessed value through the 2058-59 fiscal year.
Why is it on the ballot?
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District’ Governing Board voted unanimously in July to place Measure G on the ballot. The proposal came as the district’s current bond money, Proposition V, that was passed in 2012 is winding down and the campuses’ infrastructure needs to be replaced, the district said.
According to the district, Grossmont College lacks the necessary water pressure to respond to a wildfire. One of the projects the bond measure would fund at the school includes upgrades to campus water pressure and fire sprinklers. At Cuyamaca college one of the planned projects would replace a 50-year-old instructional building complex that “no longer supports modern technology, building codes, or academic needs.”
In 2016, a similar bond Measure was placed on the ballot and failed to pass by a narrow 2% of votes.
What are the arguments for and against?
Top supporters
- Grossmont-Cayuaca Community College District Board of Trustees
- East county Citizens for Community Colleges
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
- Cody Martinez, Chairman Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
- Jim Mahler. President American Federation of Teachers Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College
Top opponents
- Reform California
Measure H: An $18 Million Bond to Finance Construction at Jamul-Dulzura
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Jamul-Dulzura Union School District officials are asking voters to approve an $18 million loan to finance facilities improvements at the East County district. Those construction projects include replacing old and faulty infrastructure, like roofs, plumbing and gas and electric lines, renovating classrooms and adding safety features to campuses. Residents would pay off that loan, with interest, via a tax levied on their property taxes.
How it would work
- What the new bond would do: The new bond would levy a tax of approximately $30 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value over the course of the bond’s lifetime.
- District promises tax rate won’t increase: Officials at Jamul-Dulzura say they’ve structured their bond so that it will not increase the area’s current tax rate. They plan on doing this by issuing new school bonds as previous ones are exhausted, meaning the number that shows up on property owners’ taxes will remain the same. The passing of a new bond, however, would likely mean property owners will be paying the set tax rate for longer than they would have should the bond fail.
- How long it will take to pay off: District officials estimate the debt service created by the bond will be paid off over the next 35 years.
- Exemptions: Only property owners pay off bonds. These include properties of any kind, from residential to commercial.
- Cost: Bonds are essentially loans districts take out and pay back via property taxes. District officials estimate that the debt service for the bond, which includes interest, will cost taxpayers about $43 million.
- Oversight: District bond programs are overseen both by an oversight committee composed of community members appointed by the district and, in a more high-level way, by credit rating agencies that grade bonds based on an agency’s projected ability to repay its debts. High credit ratings allowed districts to refinance bond debts when interest rates decrease, cutting down on the total debt to be paid back by property owners. As of 2024, one credit agency awarded Jamul-Dulzura an upper-medium grade – not high risk, but not the highest rating possible.
- Voter threshold: In order to pass, school bonds like Measure M need to earn at least 55% of the vote.
Why is it on the ballot?
School budgets are often tight, leaving little room for the high costs of maintaining and renovating facilities. So, California districts frequently turn to bond measures to help finance those kinds of projects.
Jamul-Dulzura Union School District last proposed a bond measure in 1995. That year’s Proposition B asked voters for about $9 million for facilities improvements. It passed overwhelmingly, with nearly 77% of the vote. But now, district leaders say that measure is nearing its expiration and new funds are needed to finance renovations at the district’s schools.
District leaders say the funds will support a slew of renovations to aging facilities, including replacing deteriorating infrastructure such as roofs, electrical systems and plumbing, gas and sewer lines. They also say the funds will be used to upgrade older classrooms to meet modern health and building safety codes and improve safety features on campuses.
What are the arguments for and against?
Top supporters
- Former San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob
- Jamul-Dulzura Union School District Board of Trustees
- Former Jamul-Dulzura Union School District Superintendent, Nadine Bennett
Top opponents
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
Measure J: Julian Union High School District bond
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Measure J would authorize the Julian Union High School District to issue up to $9 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities. The district serves about 130 students at its one high school.
Bonds allow districts to borrow money, then raise property taxes to pay off the loan with interest. School bonds require a 55% yes vote to pass.
“Our students deserve to have the same educational opportunities as others in the region,” a district webpage about the bond measure reads. “We know if we want them to succeed, they must be skilled in today’s technology and have a solid background in science, math, and engineering.”
In the board resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot, district leaders say they need to make sure career training facilities are safe and functional.
“These upgrades are intended to provide students with the specialized training and competitive edge needed for success in modern technical careers,” they wrote.
The bond measure also lists other ways the district could spend the money, such as building and repairing classrooms, roofs, HVAC systems, security systems and outdoor areas.
“The State does not provide dedicated funding for local school facility improvements, meaning that, without a local funding source, our facilities will continue to age and deteriorate,” they wrote.
How it would work
- Measure _ would authorize the Julian Union High School District to issue up to $9 million in bonds to upgrade its school facilities.
- Property taxes would go up by $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value until 2054.
- The total debt service, including the principal and interest, would be about $18 million if all of the bonds are issued and sold.
Why is it on the ballot?
The Julian Union High School Board passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot in June.
What are the arguments for and against?
In their analysis, the association notes the importance of career technical education training to the broader Julian community.
“The district’s enrollment, while small, is expected to remain stable, and the benefits of repairing and modernizing this building are clear given the importance of students having access to alternative education options and skilled trades,” the association wrote.
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
Top opponents
- Reform California
Measure K: Fallbrook Union Elementary School District bond
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Measure K would authorize the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District to issue up to $76 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities. The district serves nearly 5,100 students in preschool through eighth grade.
Bonds allow districts to borrow money, then raise property taxes to pay off the loan with interest. School bonds require a 55% yes vote to pass.
Half of the district’s schools are nearly 60 years old. Voters last approved a school facilities bond in 2002, Superintendent Monika Hazel said at an Aug. 6 board meeting.
“Since that time, we’ve worked really hard to carefully maintain our campuses, and we’ve pursued other sources of funding whenever possible,” she said. “But honestly, our roofs, our plumbing, our electrical infrastructure, our heating and air conditioning, and other major building components continue to age.”
District leaders have identified $475 million in facilities needs across the district.
State law requires the district to create an independent citizens’ oversight committee and receive annual audits on how the district is spending the bond funds.
The district would also miss out on matching funds from the state. Passing a bond is one of the few ways a district can access state funding for school facility improvements.
How it would work
- Measure K would authorize the Fallbrook Union Elementary School District to issue up to $76 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities.
- Property taxes would go up by an average of $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value until 2063.
- Property owners will stop paying off Prop X, which voters approved in 2002, in 2030. District leaders say repayment of the 2026 would start after Prop X retires, resulting in no tax increase.
- The total debt service, including the principal and interest, would be nearly $167 million if all of the bonds are issued and sold.
Why is it on the ballot?
The Fallbrook Union Elementary School Board passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot in August.
What are the arguments for and against?
“We are achieving at the highest levels that we’ve seen in more than a decade,” she said. “However, many of them are doing that work in buildings and systems that are approaching and have already exceeded their useful lives.”
Assistant Superintendent Armando Farias showed the board a photo of an underground water pipe that had broken at a school. The district provided students with bottled water during the repairs. Crews fixed and buried the pipe.
“Three days later, a section about three feet away from this, from what we fixed, burst again,” Farias said. “Some people might say it’s bad luck. It’s not bad luck. It’s the structures, the piping, telling us we need a major investment in order to provide the conditions for every single one of our kids to succeed.”
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
- San Diego County Democratic Party
Top opponents
- Reform California
Measure L: Mountain Empire Unified School District bond
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Measure L would authorize the Mountain Empire Unified School District to issue up to $23 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities. The district covers more than 600 square miles in east San Diego County and serves about 1,700 students from transitional kindergarten through high school.
Bonds allow districts to borrow money, then raise property taxes to pay off the loan with interest. School bonds require a 55% yes vote to pass.
Issues with water, fire suppression and electrical systems often force schools to close, district leaders wrote on the district’s website.
“Our high school was built nearly 50 years ago and doesn’t meet modern safety standards, contains asbestos and lead pipes, and isn’t earthquake safe,” they wrote. “The gas lines, storm drains, sewer system, and plumbing at the High School are all failing, causing leaks, mold, and sewage backups.”
State law requires the district to create an independent citizens’ oversight committee and receive annual audits on how the district is spending the bond funds.
“The District is currently under extreme financial strain and lacks the necessary funds in its operating budget to address the substantial repairs and upgrades required at the high school,” they wrote.
The district would also miss out on matching funds from the state. Passing a bond is one of the few ways a district can access state funding for school facility improvements.
“Without a successful local bond and the state matching funds it would garner, there is no other viable funding source to complete critical safety and facility improvements to our high school and elementary schools,” the district wrote.
How it would work
- Measure L would authorize the Mountain Empire Unified School District to issue up to $23 million in bonds to upgrade its facilities.
- Property taxes would go up by $38 per $100,000 of assessed property value until 2061.
- The total debt service, including the principal and interest, would be nearly $48 million if all of the bonds are issued and sold.
Why is it on the ballot?
The Mountain Empire Unified School Board passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot in May.
What are the arguments for and against?
They also note that the district has received $4.6 million through the state’s financial hardship program to design a new high school campus.
This bond could unlock even more state funding, according to the association. That’s because the district’s outstanding debt would reach at least 60% of its bonding capacity, the maximum amount of bonds a district can issue at once based on its residents’ property value. That qualifies a district for the Office of Public School Construction’s Financial Hardship Program.
“In practical effect, the $23 million in bond proceeds is the local share that unlocks a substantially larger pool of state-matched construction funding,” the association wrote in its analysis of the bond measure.
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
Measure M: A $3.5 Billion Bond to Finance San Diego Unified Facilities Projects
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San Diego Unified officials are asking voters to approve a $3.5 billion bond program to finance a slew of facilities improvements, including renovating old classrooms and infrastructure, building new facilities and even building workforce housing. Residents would pay off that loan, with interest, via a tax levied on their property taxes.
How it would work
- What the new bond would do: The new bond would levy a tax of $32 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value.
Digging deeper on the “no tax rate increase” promise: San Diego Unified officials are putting the promise that the latest bond won’t raise property owners’ taxes front and center. Just look at the bond's name: “San Diego Unified School District Repair, Student Safety, No Tax Rate Increase Measure.”
District officials plan on doing this by issuing new school bonds as previous ones are exhausted, meaning the number that shows up on property owners’ taxes will remain the same. The passing of a new bond, however, would likely mean property owners will be paying the set tax rate for longer than they would have should the bond fail.
- Exemptions: Only property owners pay off bonds. These include properties of any kind, from residential to commercial.
- Cost: Bonds are essentially loans districts take out and pay back via property taxes. District officials estimate that the debt service for the bond, which includes interest, will cost taxpayers about $8.1 billion in the coming decades.
- Oversight: The districts’ bond program is overseen both by an oversight committee composed of community members appointed by the district and, in a more high-level way, by credit rating agencies that grade bonds based on an agency’s projected ability to repay its debts. Over the years, both entities have given the district’s program high marks. High credit ratings have allowed the district to refinance bond debts when interest rates decrease, cutting down on the total debt to be paid back by property owners.
- Voter threshold: In order to pass, school bonds like Measure M need to earn at least 55 percent of the vote.
Why is it on the ballot?
School budgets are often tight, leaving little room for the high costs of maintaining and renovating facilities. So, California districts frequently turn to bond measures to help finance those kinds of projects. Few local districts have been as successful as San Diego Unified at convincing voters to approve bonds.
If passed, Measure M would be the fifth district-proposed bond initiative voters have approved since 2008. In total, those bonds will have provided the district with $15 billion to spend on facilities improvements.
At the most recent meeting of the district’s oversight committee in May, officials reported that its previous bonds held a remaining balance of $1.56 billion. District leaders say the remaining fund is not sufficient to keep up with the maintenance needs the district currently has, and will continue to accrue in the future.
District leaders have pitched this latest bond as allowing them to do everything from repairing roofs and plumbing to providing safe drinking water to removing mold, asbestos and lead paint.
What are the arguments for and against?
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
- San Diego Education Association (the union that represents San Diego Unified teachers)
- San Diego County Democratic Party
The latter has been a longstanding complaint from members of the community. For years, the district has promised fixes to individual schools that have not come, but then appeared once again in a later measure.
Measure N: Vista Unified School District bond
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Measure N would authorize the Vista Unified School District to issue up to $543 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities. The district serves more than 20,000 students in transitional kindergarten through high school.
Bonds allow districts to borrow money, then raise property taxes to pay off the loan with interest. School bonds require a 55% yes vote to pass.
“Most facilities have structural damage including failing underground pipes that result in gas leaks, water leaks, and sewage backups,” the resolution reads. “Older buildings may have hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead pipes.”
The district said it could also use the funding to build or renovate science labs, performing arts spaces and athletic fields. Other potential projects include installing air conditioning, loudspeaker systems and security cameras.
The district would also miss out on matching funds from the state. Passing a bond is one of the few ways a district can access state funding for school facility improvements.
Vista Unified’s enrollment has dropped from more than 25,000 students in 2015 to about 20,300 last year. That decline led the district to close two schools in 2023. Fewer students means less funding from the state, since it’s largely based on attendance.
“The District seeks to mitigate the impacts of declining enrollment that may contribute to school consolidation by providing modern, well maintained, and innovative learning experiences for our deserving students, teachers, and community,” the May board resolution reads.
How it would work
- Measure N would authorize the Vista Unified School District to issue up to $543 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities.
- Property taxes would go up by an average of $58 per $100,000 of assessed property value until 2063.
- The total debt service, including the principal and interest, would be more than $1 billion if all of the bonds are issued and sold.
Why is it on the ballot?
The Vista Unified School Board passed a resolution putting the bond measure on the ballot in May.
What are the arguments for and against?
Sarah Spinks, a first grade teacher at Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, said it’s an opportunity for residents to invest in their community.
“We have students and staff being asked to do more with aging facilities, outdated infrastructure and growing needs,” she told the board in May. “In fact, last week, the toilet overflowed at VAPA and I had to jump over the puddle to go use the bathroom.”
Labor leaders also spoke in support of putting the bond on the ballot, saying the projects would create jobs for local construction and electrical workers.
Top supporters
- San Diego County Taxpayers Association
- San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council
- San Diego County Democratic Party
Top opponents
- Reform California
