$95 million school bond approved for November ballot
PRJUSD board says ‘yea’ to bond ballot for November election
–At its Tuesday meeting, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Board of Supervisors approved adding a bond to the November ballot that would finance designated improvement projects throughout the district.
The results of the facility master plan, and prior discussions and directions from the board, as well as hundreds of approval votes from the public, urged the board to adopt the resolution and place the bond ballot for election.
The financial impact of the bonds, if approved by voters, would be paid by increased property taxes in the district. The county will divide and allocate the costs of running the election among all of the agencies, which have measures on the ballot. The ballot costs must to be paid, regardless of whether the bonds are authorized or not.
Independent Bond Consultant Dale Scott gave an in-depth overview of the bond ballot, what it would include and how it would be accomplished. He answered several questions from the board and the public.
Superintendent Chris Williams pointed out that initial attainment of the bonds came in at approximately $135,000,000 and the board was able to whittle it down to $95,000,000, making it easier to get the bond passed. The board is asking the voters to approve the $95,000,000 bond ballot. He pointed out that the public was overwhelmingly in favor of passing the bond, which will help facilitate much needed improvements to the school with new classrooms and up-to-date structures. They are proposing new classrooms as well as other updates to school structures. Williams said the board received well over 750 responses all in favor of the bond. As of now, the schools are not seismic safe and this issue needs addressing immediately, according to the board.
Community members Robert Orlando, Vicki Lynn, and Tony Aguirre urged passing of the bond ballot with enthusiasm during public commentary. The board members as well as the many community members that attended the meeting approved the bond ballot election with tremendous applause.
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