The Redondo Beach Board of Education has taken its case for Measure Q to the parents and guardians of children enrolled in Redondo Beach Unified School District.
In a letter dated Sept. 18, Superintendent Steven Keller and Board of Education President Anita Avrick encouraged parents to support Measure Q—a $63 million general obligation bond that would pay for technology and energy upgrades across the district—on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
"If approved by voters, Measure Q would allow the District to meet today's safety, technological, and educational standards," wrote Keller and Avrick. "It will make the District more efficient and better able to withstand the State budget fluctuations. It will improve student access to educational technology, a key to 21st century learning. It will complete the investment in our classrooms, infrastructure, and facilities."
The measure, which will cost property owners $24 per $100,000 of assessed valuation per year, will pay for upgrades to the district's electrical systems—including the installation of solar panels—to make them more energy efficient and reduce cost; build new classrooms; and pay for new classroom technology.
Funds from general obligation bonds can only be used for capital improvements; they cannot pay for teacher salaries.
The school district has found itself in the middle of a budget crunch this year. For the first time in recent memory, furlough days have been instituted, and if neither of two tax measures to fund education pass this November, the district may have to implement more.
The two measures on the ballot—Proposition 30 and Proposition 38—both call for tax increases to support schools. Proposition 30, introduced by Gov. Jerry Brown, calls for a quarter-cent increase in the state sales tax and raises taxes on the state's top earners. Molly Munger's Proposition 38 increases state income tax rates for most Californians for 12 years.
They are trying to free up some of their current budget and use it for salaries, while using the bond money to pay for "technology" and "energy upgrades". Who in their right minds would buy computers, e-readers, etc and finance it for 30 years? What they are proposing is to buy technology that would last 5-10 years at best, but yet finance it for 30 years. I have heard that the energy upgrades will get the schools off of the power grid, and that they will save millions on energy. If it is so much of a money saver, why can't they use the money they save from lower power bills and use that to pay for the energy upgrades? Is it because they want to use the savings from energy to pay for salaries? Let's see: 2000 Measure E $52 Million (which made RBUSD eligible for $19 million from state) 2008 Measure C $145 million AND NOW THEY'RE ASKING FOR ANOTHER: 2012 Measure Q $63 million Personally, I will vote NO for Measure Q.
In the meantime, they fired 2 superintendents and paid out $1M in severance. NO MORE FUNDING for an INCOMPETENT district.