Pacific Grove Unified School District

A bond measure is how a California public school district asks its community for authorization to borrow money to pay for capital expenditures.

Voter-approved bond funds can be spent on new construction, additions, remodeling, site improvements, athletic facilities, playgrounds, buses, furnishings, equipment, and technology. Funds raised through the sale of bonds cannot be used on operational expenses such as employee salaries and benefits (unless a position is created specifically related to supporting the bond), school supplies, and textbooks.

Bond funds must be kept separate from operating funds and must be audited by an independent auditing firm.

Measure D is a general obligation (GO) bond measure on the March 3, 2020, primary election ballot.  If approved by over 55 percent of District voters, the measure will authorize $30 million of locally controlled funds to repair and modernize aging schools and classrooms throughout the Pacific Grove Unified School District, with no projected increase in current tax rates.

Pacific Grove schools are among our community’s most valuable assets. The District Board believes the state has fallen short in providing adequate funding to maintain and improve our children’s schools. This measure addresses that problem by providing a fiscally prudent source of locally controlled funds that cannot be taken by the state and spent elsewhere. Measure D will also qualify the District for millions of dollars of state matching funds that would otherwise be unavailable.

The measure’s average annual tax rate is estimated to be less than $0.03 per $100 of assessed valuation. This amount will be an extension of the current tax rate with no projected increase in current taxes.

A tax rate extension will allow the District to make improvements with no projected increase in current tax rates. Funds to repay the bonds come from a tax on all taxable property – residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial – located within the District.

Measure D includes legal safeguards requiring all funds to be spent on our local schools. Funds are prohibited from being used for general operating expenses. An independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee must review all bond expenditures. Measure D includes legal safeguards requiring all bond funds to be spent on our local schools and prohibits the state from taking and spending the funds in other districts.

• Repairing or replacing outdated pipes and
  leaking roofs and gutters
• Repairing or replacing aging plumbing infrastructure
• Replacing aging floors and building foundations
• Upgrading fire alarm and emergency communication systems
• Upgrading old playgrounds and playing fields
  to increase student safety
• Meeting handicap accessibility (ADA) requirements in restrooms, in classrooms, and on playgrounds
• Renovating and modernizing aging classrooms and facilities throughout the district