Voters who live within Clovis Unified School District will have the opportunity to decide on a $400 million bond measure in November.
On Wednesday, the CUSD Governing Board moved to place the $400 million facility bond on the November ballot.
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The backstory: The bond has been in the works for several months and comes following a recommendation in June by the Citizens Committee to Study Capital Facility Needs, which was comprised of 40 volunteers that met for six months to research the district’s facility needs.
- The committee identified many needs of several existing schools, which would cost around $550 million if fully funded.
- But the committee prioritized the list to bring it down to $400 in order to not raise the tax rate, if approved.
State of play: CUSD’s tax rate of $155 per $100,000 of assessed value has been in place since 2012 and will remain the same if the $400 million bond passes.
- The $155 per $100,000 of assessed value is the lowest tax rate in district history and lower than neighboring districts.
- Fresno Unified’s tax rate is $214 per $100,000 of assessed value, while Central comes in at $215 and Sanger at $203.
The big picture: If approved, the bond would provide funding to update and modernize the older schools in the district, including Nelson Elementary School in north Fresno, which opened in 1957.
- It would provide improvements to school safety and energy efficiency on all 53 school sites.
- The bond would also allow the district to complete the final phases of Clovis South High School, allocating $180 million for the project.
What they’re saying: “We take great pride in the fact that our facilities are well maintained, and they’re clean and they provide a sense of pride for our students and community,” said Superintendent Corrine Folmer. “And that has happened based on a long tradition of our community passing bonds.”
- Folmer said the district needs bond funding in order to keep its aging facilities current to provide the dynamic learning environment that students and teachers expect.
- “Ultimately we want to make sure that our community and our students feel proud, and we would be naive if we didn’t think that that starts with how their campus looks and how they feel when they walk on campus,” Folmer said. “And quite frankly, our kids deserve it.”