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Pasadena Unified Considering Bond Proposal to Upgrade Facilities, Tech

Measure could be on the November ballot

Published on Monday, June 22, 2020 | 9:36 am
 

Citing a need to update aging campuses and computer devices, Pasadena Unified School District leadership has proposed seeking a bond between $360 million and $689 million on the November ballot to pay for facility and education technology upgrades.

PUSD Chief Business Officer Leslie Barnes presented three different options for a bond proposal during Thursday’s school board’s meeting, each seeking $60 million for educational technology funding, coupled with $300 million, $456 million or $629 million for facilities.

The bonds would cost property owners $30, $45 or $60, respectively, on their property taxes for each $100,000 of assessed value, Barnes explained.

There was majority support by the Board of Education for conducting more research and bringing the issue back for more discussion and details, including details project proposals, in meetings to come, likely either in this Thursday’s meeting or in early July, Board Member Scott Phelps said.

“There was no real discussion about preferring one or the other,” he said. “They were just scoping it out.”

The Board of Education will need to move quickly if they proceed with the plan, which must be finalized prior to Aug. 6, Phelps said. “That’s the deadline for it to be on the November ballot.”

PUSD’s facilities have long been in need of improvements, according to Barnes. And the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology, as distance learning has become an integral part of the education process.

“Truly, technology has taken center stage during this pandemic,” Barnes said.

As an example, Barned pointed to PUSD’s One-to-One program, which currently leases devices for students’ use. If the lease is not renewed by June 30, 2021, the devices must be returned.

The Board of Education considered seeking a nearly $1 billion facilities bond last year, but ultimately decided against pursuing it.

Board President Patrick Cahalan said this year, the time may be right, as public sentiment appears to have changed in recent months, due in part to the pandemic, and Pasadenans may now be more willing to open their wallets to help the school system.

“Things have changed enough that staff wanted to bring this back for one more presentation,” he said.

Bond consultants advise that the measure would stand the best change during a major election. If not pursued in 2020, the next realistic chance may not come until 2024, he said.

“We should seriously consider doing this if we’re going to have any hope of patching our facilities needs,” Cahalan said.

Board Member Michelle Richardson Bailey said she felt confident the community would pitch in for the schools, and urged to Board to move forward with the largest of the three bond proposals.

“I really believe we’ll get it,” she said. “I’m 100 percent for this.”

But some officials were less optimistic about a bond measure’s chances on the ballot, especially with two years of another ballot measure.

Measures I and J, passed on the 2018 ballot, increased the city’s sales tax by three-quarters of a cent per dollar, dedicating a 3rd of the roughly $20 million in projected income to schools. But Bailey said in comparison to the scope PUSD’s budget, “Those funds are just a drop in the bucket for us. It wasn’t the end all for saving the district”

Voters also passed Measure TT in 2008, securing $350 million in facilities bonds for the PUSD.

Phelps said he recognized the need for the funding was very real, but worried about the measure’s prospects at the polls.

“I support putting this on the ballot, but I want it to succeed,” Phelps said.

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