Chamber of Commerce Opposes Measure O

The Chamber of Commerce has come out against Measure O, a $516 million facilities bond measure put on the Nov. 3 ballot by the Pasadena Unified School District.

The bonds would cost local property owners between $45 to $60 a year on their property taxes for each $100,000 of assessed value, 

“The additional tax burden will be borne by local taxpayers for more than 25 years,” said Paul Little, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, in a letter to the City Council.

Although the district has said bond funds would not be used to pay salaries, Little points out that less than 15 percent of the money will be dedicated to technology upgrades. 

The district’s latest bond measure came just one year after voters overwhelmingly approved a three quarter-cent tax increase to help stave off a county takeover of local schools.

Making matters worse for bond backers, the virtue shutdown of the economy to help curb the spread of the coronavirus has left many people out of work and unable to pay bills.

“The Pasadena area is experiencing the harshest financial downturn since the Great Depression,” Little said. “Unemployment has skyrocketed, recovery will be a long slow process, and no one but the wealthy among us can afford any additional expenses right now.”

Opposition to Measure O put the Chamber of Commerce at odds with the City Council, which on Monday voted 5-0 to support the initiative. Councilmember Andy Wilson abstained from voting, and Vice Mayor Tyron Hampton and Councilmember Margaret McAustin were absent.

The chamber and the council disagreed on the $15 minimum wage and the three-quarter-cent tax increase, which was proposed by Mayor Terry Tornek and approved by voters.

In letters to the council, local residents implored local lawmakers to not support the bond measure.

“I urge the City Council NOT to support Measure 0,” wrote William Opel. “This is the wrong time to raise indebtedness and taxes. Further, this is a blank check with very little to no definition of specific plans and no justification. Further,  the measure is misleading in that most of it will not be spent for technology.”

Local taxpayers are still paying for the $350 million in bond funds provided by Measure TT, which won’t be off the books until 2037. The debt on $240 million Measure Y, which passed in 1997, has been paid.

Some of the money from those measures went to infrastructure projects at schools that were recently shuttered by the district due to low enrollment.

In 2019, PUSD Chief Facilities Officer Nelson Cayabyab said more than 90 percent of PUSD schools were built 50 or more years ago and have not had upgrades to electrical systems. In fact, some district schools still have ceilings insulated with asbestos. 

“Pasadena Unified is suffering from significantly declining enrollment, with projections that only 14,000 students will be attending PUSD schools within five years,” Little said. “School district officials and board members have blamed the decline, at least in part, on a lack of affordable housing in the PUSD service area. Ironically, passage of Measure 0 would make residential rents even less affordable as landlords pass tax increases along to tenants. Struggling small businesses will see their rents increase to cover additional costs forced upon them by Measure 0.

“The PUSD Board of Education has struggled to maintain a healthy financial outlook for the district, getting to the verge of a takeover by the LA County Office of Education due to its inability to make tough financial decisions. At the same time, the school board struggled to determine which campuses to close as a result of its significantly declining enrollment. The chamber board would like to see the PUSD show a few years of financial solvency and leadership in making difficult decisions before seeking a half-billion-dollar investment from local taxpayers,” Little said.