Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Fresno Unified Wrestles With How Big to Make Bond Measure
gvw_nancy_price
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 5 years ago on
November 7, 2019

Share

Faced with lower community support for a bond measure that would hike property taxes, the Fresno Unified School Board appears split on whether to ask voters to greenlight a $500 million bond measure.
The board is likely to vote on a bond measure resolution at the Nov. 20 meeting following a workshop to discuss a list of project proposals for the bond measure.


Listen to this article:


“I frankly think those are some of the people who are most likely to want to invest in their students, and to invest in the district, because they realize the value of education.”Fresno Unified trustee Carol Mills
A $500 million bond measure would hike the district’s property tax rate by $60 per $100,000 assessed value — the maximum allowed by state law — raising the district’s tax rate from $189 per $100,000 assessed value to $249.
Chief business officer Karin Temple said at Wednesday’s board meeting that Fresno Unified’s median home value is now $137,000, and the owner of such a home would pay an extra $82 a year if voters approved a $500 million bond measure. Fresno Unified’s share of that homeowner’s property tax bill would be $341 instead of the current $259.
Photo of Carol Mills
Carol Mills

Let Voters Make the Call

Trustee Carol Mills, citing the $1 billion estimate for deferred maintenance, upgrades, additions, new schools and other new facilities in the district, said she favors putting the bigger bond measure on the March ballot and letting voters weigh in on whether they are willing to take on the extra tax burden.
“I’m personally in favor of letting the voters make this decision instead of making it for them,” she said. “Because I think, regardless of the fact that we may have many people who we would categorize generically as poor …
“I frankly think those are some of the people who are most likely to want to invest in their students, and to invest in the district, because they realize the value of education, and that having a quality education, in a quality facility, is what will help lift their children into a higher income bracket. And a better future.”

“Even though I’m sure we would all love to ensure our children have the best quality education we can afford them, whether or not they pay an additional $60 could mean food on the table, diapers on their children, shoes on somebody’s feet.”board president Claudia Cazares
And, she said, if the measure fails on the March ballot, the district still could put a less costly bond measure on the November ballot.
Claudia Cazares

Big Tax Hike Would Hurt Some Families

But board president Claudia Cazares cautioned against assuming that a hefty tax hike could be readily absorbed by some households.
“Having worked in affordable housing for some time now, it has become apparent that our lower-income families value every dollar that they have,” Cazares said. “And even though I’m sure we would all love to ensure our children have the best quality education we can afford them, whether or not they pay an additional $60 could mean food on the table, diapers on their children, shoes on somebody’s feet.”
Chief financial officer Ruthie Quinto said the $500 million bond measure could pose a risk to the district’s credit rating and also would make the district less nimble in structuring its financing. She said the district might be better served with two $250 million bond measures, which would still allow Fresno Unified to collect its share of state facilities money.
The bond measure discussion followed a presentation of the results of the second community survey that FM3 conducted in October to gauge support for bigger bond measures. The survey questioned 644 likely primary voters.
FM3’s first survey in August asked about voter support for bond measures totaling $180 million, which would not raise the tax rate, and $240 million, which would raise taxes by $18 per $100,000 of assessed value.

Tax Hike Cools Bond Measure Support

In the second survey, 70% said they would definitely or probably vote for a $500 million bond measure, with an additional 3% leaning toward yes.
But support was less strong for a bond measure if it meant a property tax hike of $60 per $100,000 of assessed value. Only 53% said they would probably or definitely vote yes, with another 7% leaning toward yes.
School bond measures must get 55% of the vote to win approval.
When the second survey asked about support for a bond measure with no tax hike, 67% percent said they would probably or definitely vote yes, with an additional 8% leaning toward yes.
The first survey, which was conducted in August, reported similar results when voters were asked about a bond measure with no tax hike. In that survey, 66% said they would probably or definitely vote yes for a $240 million bond measure that hiked their tax rate by $18 per $100,000 of assessed value, with another 6% leaning toward yes.

Support Also Strong for State Funding

The second survey also asked voters about the $15 billion Proposition 13 (formerly known as Assembly Bill 48) that’s on the March ballot, which includes $9 billion for K-12 school construction and upgrades. Sixty-one percent said they would probably or definitely vote yes, with another 5% leaning toward yes.
Fresno Unified and other districts such as Clovis and Central with bond measures on the March ballot could expect a share of the state’s funding, if state voters approve Proposition 13, if they have cash in hand from approved local bond measures.
Fresno Unified trustees must complete their deliberations, approve a resolution, and submit the ballot language to the Fresno County Elections Office by Dec. 6, the deadline to submit election materials for the March ballot.

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Classes for Cannabis? UC Merced Extension Launching Weed Workforce Training

UP NEXT

Who Are Fresno State’s ‘Heroes’ in Health and Human Services Services?

UP NEXT

Reedley College Celebrates Opening of Gleaming New Performing Arts Center

UP NEXT

Volunteers Came Back to Nonprofits in 2023, After the Pandemic Tanked Participation

UP NEXT

New Study: Proposed Trump Tariffs Could Cost US Consumers $78 Billion a Year

UP NEXT

Riders Stuck in Midair for Over 2 Hours on Knott’s Berry Farm Ride

UP NEXT

Measures A and Q Still Winning. Clovis Unified Trustee Candidate Extends Lead.

UP NEXT

Shouting Racial Slurs, Neo-Nazi Marchers Shock Ohio’s Capital

UP NEXT

More Logging Is Proposed to Help Curb Wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

3 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

3 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

4 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

4 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

4 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

5 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

5 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

5 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

5 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

6 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

1 hour ago

1 hour ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

2 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

2 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

3 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

4 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

4 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
4 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend