With state and county budget cuts hitting schools hard, voters went to the polls in the primary Tuesday and sent a loud and clear message: Our schools need help.
Voters across the Bay Area approved measures to help improve schools, from the facitliies to safety.
Three school bond measures in Santa Clara County passed by a wide margin. Measure A, a bond for the Mountain View-Los Alto Union High School District, passed with 77 percent approval. The bond will allow the district to add classrooms and science labs to prevent student overcrowding, improve instructional technology to support academic programs, and lower energy costs by upgrading heating, ventilation, electrical and other systems.
Measure E a bond for the Los Gatos Union School District, passed with 71 percent of the vote. The bond will allow the district to create additional classrooms and school facilities to avoid overcrowding, provide science labs, and improve energy efficiency and fire safety in elementary and middle schools in the district.
Measure G, a bond for Campbell Union Elementary School, won with 73 percent approval. The bond money will go towards repairing leaky roofs, providing disabled access; upgrading wiring, electrical, fire alarm and security systems, improving energy efficiency, replacing failing heating and cooling systems, and upgrading computer learning technology.
Measure B, an $84 annual parcel tax for five years for the Milpitas Unified School District, passed with 70 percent approval. Measure H, a five-year, $95 annual parcel tax for the Mount Pleasant Elementary School District, won with 71 percent approval. Measure I, a five-year $48 annual parcel tax for the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, passed with 75 percent of the vote.
The passage of Measure C with 72 percent of the vote allows the Oak Grove School District to continue for four years expending funds generated by the existing special tax of $68 per parcel. Measure L, a 20-year $76 annual parcel tax for the North County Library Authority, passed with 77 percent approval.
With all but one of the 154 precincts reporting, voters in Contra Costa County's Mount Diablo Unified School District appear to have approved Measure C, which will authorize the district to issue a $348 million bond to help reduce the impacts of state budget cuts and fix and improve school facilities.
The measure required 55 percent voter approval to pass and, according to preliminary election results, it received appears to have received at least 60.7 percent voter approval.
By approving the measure, voters in the district agreed to tax themselves an estimated $40.83 per $100,000 of assessed value of property until the bonds and interest are repaid.
Voters in the West Contra Costa County Unified School District also appear to have approved Measure D, which authorizes the district to issue a $380 million bond to improve school safety, repair and upgrade facilities, qualify for state matching grants, remove asbestos, install lighting and security systems, construct new facilities, repair restrooms and increase energy efficiency.
With 126 or 129 precincts reporting, Measure D appears to have received more than 62 percent of the vote. It required 55 percent voter approval to pass.
