With a record $500 million construction bond on the November ballot, one question looms large for Fresno Unified leadership.

Will the proposed projects in each of the schools district’s seven regions satisfy enough voters to gain the 55% approval needed for adoption?

Based on voter turnout for the March primary, voters in three regions — Fresno High, Hoover High, Bullard High — likely will pack a big punch in determining the outcome. In the primary, those three regions comprised 65% of the electorate.

In board discussions about the projects’ list and the amount of funding to be allocated for each area, several topics dominated the debate: equity, needs, and past allocations by district.

Since those initial talks, adjustments have been made to the proposed projects list. For example, schools in the Bullard area — which traditionally has the highest voter turnout — received about a $6 million boost to $30.6 million. However, that isn’t nearly enough to address crumbling Bullard area schools that the district rates in “poor” condition. Nor will that amount fund pre-K bathrooms needed at four elementary schools.

Wealthy Districts Get More State Help

Similar situations are found throughout the district, which has been penalized for nearly three decades under a system in which the state allocates supplemental construction bonds based on property valuations. Meaning: wealthy districts get far more state help to address school construction needs than poor districts such as Fresno Unified.

A UC Berkeley study examined the state funding distribution of the 813 school districts from 1998 through 2023. Districts with the lowest assessed property value received $2,970 in modernization funding per student, while the districts with the highest assessed property value got $7,910 per student.

Proposition 2, which is also on the November ballot, authorizes the state to issue $10 billion in bonds using a slightly altered formula that provides a little bit more for districts with lower property valuations.

Fresno Unified’s latest proposed projects list was on the consent calendar for Wednesday night’s School Board meeting set to begin at 5:30 p.m. However, it was pulled from the agenda by district staff.

If Approved, Highest Tax Rate in County

The district had previously reported that if voters approve the Measure H bond it would cause Fresno Unified’s tax rate to soar to the top among all of Fresno County’s school districts. The district’s tax rate would climb to $238.86 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. That would mean for a property valued at $500,000, the district taxes would be $1,194.30 annually.

The bulk of the money would be spent on some of the city’s oldest schools in the Roosevelt, McLane, Fresno, and Edison regions. According to the district’s report on Wednesday’s School Board agenda, nearly $98 million would be spent in the McLane region, $95.3 million in the Roosevelt region, $74.4 million in the Edison region, $74.2 million in the Fresno High region, $30.6 million in the Bullard region, $12.2 million in the Sunnyside region, and $50 million “districtwide.”

The board decided that this bond measure would have an equity focus and would take care of the schools with the greatest need, no matter which region they are in.

The district earlier this year reported that prior bond measure spending from 2006 to the present day totaled more than $1.5 billion and was divided as follows: Roosevelt, 17.3%; Bullard, 14.9%; Edison, 14.4%; Fresno High, 14.4%; McLane, 12.5%; Hoover, 11%; Sunnyside, 10.8%; the Center for Advanced Research and Technology, .07%; and “support offices,” 4.7%.

Proposed Bond Money Tax Revenue Per Region

Fresno Unified’s Measure H bond would levy a $60 tax per $100,000 of assessed property value at the highest tax rate. Based on calculations from the Fresno County Assessor’s Office and digital mapping, the estimated annual tax revenue is $17.8 million based on the maximum number proposed.

The estimated revenue generated breakdown by region is as follows: Edison, 10.96%; Roosevelt, 8.62%; Sunnyside, 12.89%; McLane, 9.58%; Fresno High, 12.28%; Hoover, 16.36%; and Bullard, 29.31%.

The estimated taxes calculated include businesses and non-residential properties.

Teachers Collaborated on Choosing Projects

The Measure H project list includes something that’s new this time: a collaboration between the district and Fresno Teachers Association on how to spend one-third of the bond measure proceeds. The list includes $164,552,500 in school improvement projects through that collaboration.

Measure H would also pay for $50 million in deferred maintenance, $77.5 million for turf, track, and lights projects; and $15 million for the Chandler Aviation Academy in southwest Fresno.

It also includes $37,031,250 for uncompleted Measure M projects.

The remaining $155.9 million would pay for projects such as renovations and upgrades at Pyle Elementary ($32 million); Bullard High South Gym upgrades ($6.9 million); partial renovations at Yosemite Middle ($27. 2 million), Fort Miller Middle ($25.6 million), and Computech Middle ($23 million); and initial work on a Sunnyside region career-technical education ag farm facility ($9 million).

Proposed Measure H Project List