Jessica Cejnar / Friday, June 25, 2021 @ 4:59 p.m.
DNUSD to Seek Voter Input on Potential School Bond Measure; Survey Will Be Launched This Fall
A $2 million modernization project at Joe Hamilton Elementary School aims to alleviate rusted and rotted building conditions. Photo courtesy of Steve Morgan
(Updated at 8:55 p.m.: To correct the amount of the $2 million pricetag for the Joe Hamilton renovation project.)
Though he had plenty to say about a potential new school facilities bond, Steve Morgan’s pictures did the talking for him.
Showing the current exterior envelope renovation project at Joe Hamilton Elementary School, Morgan’s pictures depicted the rust, rot, and old building materials workers will replace this summer using roughly $2 million in bond dollars voters approved in 2008.
Once that project’s done, those bond dollars will be exhausted, the director of facilities and construction told trustees Thursday.
Morgan estimated that bringing all DNUSD facilities up to date will cost an estimated $47 million.
“There are six DNUSD schools that were built in the same era as Joe Hamilton School — that are anywhere between 60 and 70 years old — and are in the same physical condition currently shown in the photos,” Morgan told trustees in a written report. “Without a new local facilities bond measure being passed, our school facilities will continue to erode, decay, fail and become physically and aesthetically deplorable.”
It was largely because of Morgan’s photos that the DNUSD Board of Trustees on Thursday agreed to work with Jon Isom, of Isom Advisors, to launch a survey this fall to determine if the community would support a second bond measure for local schools.
Trustees also urged the district to begin reaching out to other elected officials and community stakeholders to gather their input, and asked staff to be transparent about how DNUSD spent previous bond dollars.
“We need to … very openly, and kind of in your face, (say) here is what we did with the GO Bond money we had before and here’s all the money we were able to leverage with that money,” Trustee Area 4 representative Charlaine Mazzei said. “We need pictures of schools that still need modernization. The plan going forward has to address those schools that have not received any modernization (dollars) first.”
According to Morgan, Smith River, Pine Grove, Redwood, Bess Maxwell, Margaret Keating and Sunset High School are all about 60 to 70 years old and are experiencing the same level of deterioration as Joe Hamilton
Once a GO Bond-funded modernization project at Joe Hamilton is finished, that bond will be exhausted. Photo courtesy of Steve Morgan
The renovation project at Joe Hamilton will include a new roof and paint as well as replacing some of the rusted and rotted parts of the building that have either failed or are failing, according to Morgan. The areas that have yet to fail will be scraped, treated and painted over.
Crescent Elk Middle School, built in 1929, received $2 million in state modernization dollars that paid for new roofs, ventilation systems and windows, Morgan said, but its classrooms, restrooms and utility infrastructure — water, electrical, gas, sewer and fire sprinkler lines — need upgrading.
Del Norte High School underwent an $8 million modernization project in 2016, 2017 and 2018 that included a new roof, paint, HVAC system, windows and a fire alarm system. Like Crescent Elk, Morgan said, DNHS’s classrooms, utility infrastructure, athletics facilities and parking lots still need improvement.
District office facilities, including its transportation and warehouse buildings, which were constructed in the 1950s and 60s are also in need of improvement, Morgan said.
In addition to using local voter-approved bond dollars to make upgrades to its schools, districts also use state aid moneys that kick in when campuses are old or over crowded enough, Isom said.
According to Morgan, the California Office of Public School Construction have determined that Bess Maxwell, Mary Peacock, Mountain, Pine Grove, Redwood and Smith River schools were eligible for those dollars, which could pay for 60 percent of the total project cost.
General obligation bond dollars can be used to cover the remaining 40 percent of the total project cost, according to Morgan.
“The district has three years to get these six modernization projects ready and eligible to receive State of California K-12 facilities modernization grant dollars,” he said.
Projects require approval from the California Division of the State Architect to proceed, Morgan said.
At least six other Del Norte Unified schools are experiencing similar levels of deterioration as Joe Hamilton. Photo courtesy of Steve Morgan
Before DNUSD proceeds with placing a bond measure on the ballot, Isom said it should find out how voters feel through a phone survey. Questions would include whether voters would be “willing to vote yes on a bond that would do the following if the election were held today.”
Other questions would involve specific projects, Isom said. This includes asking voters if they would support a bond if those dollars were used to replace a leaky roof or deteriorating plumbing, he said.
“We want, statistically, for your voters to give you feedback as to what their priorities are and what they’re willing to pay for,” Isom told trustees. “If you want to test building a new swimming pool or performing arts center or a new track or a new district office, and voters say no, ‘I don’t want to pay for a new district office,’ or ‘no, I don’t want to pay for a new swimming pool’ or whatever that project might be, I am going to generally advise and recommend not doing one of those projects.”
Isom also told trustees that there are safeguards required under Proposition 39 governing school bonds that protect taxpayers. This includes capping the tax at $60 per $100,000 of taxable property value — districts can ask for less — and requiring four board members to approve approve placing a bond measure on the ballot, he said.
Districts are also required to establish a citizens oversight committee to inform the public about how those bond revenues are spent, Isom said.
“If the community says we don’t think you need it or we just don’t want to pay anymore taxes, then that’s their choice,” he said. “But then, they need to live with the facility quality, or lack thereof, that you guys have.”
The 2008 general obligation bond did not seek the $60 maximum, Isom told trustees.
Every trustee said they wanted to move forward with a survey of local voters, Board President Angela Greenough, especially, wanted the information because she had “reservations on both sides.”
“Our facilities are completely falling down,” she said, thanking Morgan for his pictures. “But what does that mean to our community — adding another assessment onto their bill? It’s very back and forth to me and I would love to know what the community thinks.”
Greenough also asked district staff to share how DNUSD used bond dollars from 2008. One of the more prominent expenditures was the new gym at Smith River School, she said.
"Direct them to the other projects," she said, "because they're not as visible."
Documents:
• Completed 2008 GO Bond projects
CLICK TO MANAGE