Sonoma Valley schools place measure on ballot

By Helen Marsh | Special to The Sun

Sonoma Valley Schools serve 4,600 students from Glen Ellen to Sears Point at eleven campuses. On August 9, the five members of the school board voted unanimously to place a measure on the ballot for the November 2016 election to make upgrades to classrooms, labs, instructional technology and school facilities. If the measure passes, the District will use the proceeds to benefit students at all schools.

With the support of parents, teachers and the community, Sonoma Valley schools prepare graduates for success in college, careers and life. To ensure that the youngest students are ready to succeed in school the District offers preschool for all incoming students. Elementary, middle and high school students receive a strong academic foundation in science, math, reading and writing. To train graduates to enter the workforce, the District offer career technical education programs in engineering, design, technology and in sustainable agriculture.

Most of the District’s facilities are between 50 and 90 years old. The District’s goal is to use the proceeds for major maintenance projects. These include repairing and replacing leaky roofs, deteriorating plumbing and sewer systems, and outdated HVAC systems. In addition, the District will upgrade its aging classroom, science labs, and career and technical education facilities. The projects will be prioritized from the Facilities Master Plans that each location has completed over the past five years.

The District also will use proceeds to augment its technology resources as specified by the Districtwide Technology Plan that it recently completed. The infrastructure requires continued improvements to support the increased use of technology in education. For example, the statewide assessment test is administered by computer to all students from third through eleventh grade. Moreover, the District is looking forward to the savings it will realize as it transitions to online textbooks.

At Sonoma Valley High School, students in the Engineering, Design and Technology Academy are currently using advanced computer programs. These students as well as others have access to a “maker” lab, which in equipped with devices such as 3D printers. Given the rapid evolution of technology solutions, the District anticipates that it will need to continually upgrade these facilities, software and equipment in order to prepare students for jobs that may not even exist yet.

Since the 1990s, Sonoma School District voters have shown support for ballot measures that emphasize the maintenance of existing buildings. Generally referred to as “warm, safe and dry,” this principle has guided the District’s planning process for this proposed measure. Also important are safety improvements as well as continued efforts to save money through energy efficiency.

Early in 2015, the School Board and the District staff began to explore the possibility of including a measure on the 2016 ballot. After a voter survey conducted in the fall of 2015, community meetings, input from staff and families, it concluded that there was community support for repairs and upgrades to building, for classroom modernization, for physical education facilities, and for health and safety improvements.

In addition, there is strong community support for preparing students for college and career, including many post-secondary opportunities that require modern technology skills and the ability to master new technologies as they are introduced. Many high school students are now participating in internships with North Bay businesses and are finding that these how important this skill is to their successes in the workplace.

Under California law, school districts have very few options when it comes to making the necessary renovations and upgrades to local schools. The state does not provide significant funds to be used for these projects. In Sonoma, as in most school districts, eighty to eighty-five percent of its general fund revenues are used for employee salary and benefits.

A local school facility improvement funding measure would provide the local control necessary to complete prioritized projects to provide a safe and modern learning environment for all students. In addition, the District would be eligible to qualify for state matching funds if the measure were to pass — funds that would otherwise go to other communities.

The measure includes a number of provisions to help insure fiscal accountability. For example, funds could only be used locally to improve Sonoma Valley school facilities and could not be taken by the State. No money could be used for administrator salaries. A citizens’ oversight committee will be formed to ensure funds are spent as described in the measure. There will be an annual independent financial and performance.

If passed, the bond measure will generate $120 million for locally controlled funding for Valley schools. The estimated annual tax rate is $42.50 per $100,000 of assessed (not market) value.

For more information, or to provide feedback on the bond measure or facilities issues, visit www.svusd.org/schoolfacilities-questions-and-answers.html. You may also call Superintendent Louann Carlomagno at 707.935.4246, or email the district at [email protected].

Sonoma attorney Helen Marsh, a consultant for the School District, served on the School Board from 2004 to 2014.