Milpitas voters will decide in June whether to approve a $95 million bond to pay for roof repairs, improved science labs, new classrooms and more in the city’s aging public schools.
The Milpitas Unified School District Board on Tuesday unanimously agreed to ask voters to approve the bond. It will need 55 percent approval from voters in the June 5 primary election to pass.
“That’s step one, a very big step,” said district Superintendent Cary Matsuoka.
If approved, the bond will be paid for with a new property tax. That tax would charge Milpitas property owners an additional $50 per $100,000 of assessed property value each year. For example, a resident with a home assessed at $200,000 would pay an additional $100 each year on his property tax bill for the bond.
“I think we’ve got it down and I am so excited about this,” said school board member William Foulk.
The decision to take the bond to voters follows months of planning, research and opinion polls. Now the ballot moves into the hands of a citizens committee, which will reach out to voters and advocate for its passage.
The school district is not the only local government eyeing the June ballot. Milpitas City Council last week declared a fiscal emergency, so if council decides to ask voters for a new tax in June it will only need a majority vote to pass. Normally city taxes need a two-thirds vote to be approved.
