School Board Explores Bond Measure

Pomeroy Elementary needs a new multi-purpose building. Spangler could use a new classroom building. The middle schools are due for new gyms.

Schools in Milpitas Unified have buildings that could use seismic upgrades, new roofs and new heating and cooling ventilation systems. 

Through the election season has been quiet in Milpitas leading up to this November, school officials are exploring a bond measure, possibly in June 2012, to finance facility renovations, according to a discussion Tuesday at the school board meeting.

With voter approval, the bond measure would authorize the district to sell a certain dollar amount of bonds on the market, taxing property owners to pay them off.

Right now, property owners in the school district pay $35 per $100,000 of the assessed value on their property, the lowest in Santa Clara County, according to . 

That bond measure was passed in 1996. A new general obligation bond measure would create an additional tax, likely to be no more than $60 per $100,000, on top of the existing one, said Matsuoka. 

There are no hard numbers yet. The first steps would be taken by the board at its regular meeting on Oct. 11. Specifically, it would be to authorize a contract with an elections consultant and a polling consultant.

"We need the polling data that tells us what the community is willing to support," said Matsuoka to the school board.

While an initial list of facility needs was presented to the board, Matsuoka recommended hiring consultants to come up with a comprehensive inventory. An architecture firm would visit each school to talk to principal staff for input on a facility assessment study. And a separate consultant is recommended for analyzing the needs of the district's latest enrollment projection data, make calculations and assist with master planning.

The June 2012 election is one window Matsuoka suggested. The resolution could wait until the Feb. 28 meeting and qualify for the June ballot. The measure would need a 55 percent threshold to pass.

While no official actions were taken at Tuesday's school board meeting, members expressed support. Click here for the PowerPoint.

has a bond measure, Measure G, on the ballot this November, using the same elections consulting firm, TBWB Strategies, that Milpitas is considering. The estimated $63 million is calculated from a property tax of $39 per $100,000 assessed value of property.