ROSAMOND — Southern Kern Unified School District will ask its local voters to approve a $59 million general obligation bond measure this November.
Southern Kern trustees on Tuesday adopted a resolution to order a bond election and to consolidate it with the Nov. 5 general election.
Bonds proceeds would be used for projects including upgrades of science, technology, engineering, arts and math classrooms; repair leaky roofs; improve student safety/security; and build a new school to reduce overcrowding, according to the proposed ballot language. Other projects include to improve vocational/career classrooms; renovate plumbing, fire safety and electrical systems; remove asbestos; and ensure clean drinking water.
“I feel like it is not big, but it’s open enough that, hey, we really need it,” board President Sunni Hepburn said, adding she likes the part about clean drinking water.
Trustee Brandin Coy wanted to ensure that the district could provide clean drinking water.
The board voted 4-0 to adopt the resolution, with trustee Adrienne Rendon absent.
“It’s no surprise to me that the board is highly regarded (and) the schools are highly regarded currently by the community,” consultant Khush Gheyera of Caldwell Flores Winters Inc. said during a presentation Tuesday night. He added a survey of likely voters indicated support for the proposed bond measure.
The district will pursue the bond measure under Proposition 39, which would require a 55% majority for passage, and an oversight committee to monitor how the money is spent. In addition, per Prop. 39, the maximum tax rate for unified school districts must not exceed $60 per $100,000 of assessed value.
The district last passed a bond measure in November 2014, when voters approved Measure D, a $28.4 million bond measure. Prior to that, in November 2008 voters approved Measure H, a $24 million bond that extended a 2002 voter-approved tax rate to build Westpark Elementary School, which opened in 2006.
“These bonds have gone to support the district’s facilities improvements as we have experienced growth in enrollment; as our older facilities have aged over time and we prepare replacement,” Caldwell Flores Winters Inc. CEO Emilio Flores said during a presentation at Tuesday’s board meeting. “These bonds have been the primary resource for the district to go and address facilities needs.”
In partnership with those bonds, the district has been aggressive in pursuing modernization grants from the state, he added. Those programs often require local money to match.
