Support Measure Q - the 2008 school bond in Scotts Valley, California

Measure Q is a $55 million facility bond measure on the June 3rd, 2008 ballot. If passed, Measure Q will fund basic improvements at our aging neighborhood schools. It will provide safe and modern classrooms, science labs, technology and libraries.

Scotts Valley Middle School was built in 1941. After six decades of continuous use, major improvements are needed to protect the health and safety of our kids. Half of all classes are held in portables that have exceeded their lifespan and are falling apart. Deteriorating plumbing, heating and ventilation systems need replacement. Ancient electrical systems cannot accommodate modern classroom technology. Inefficient insulation, doors and windows waste energy and money. Science labs are outdated for modern instruction. Over half of the children at our elementary schools also attend class in portables that have exceeded their lifespan. They have no foul-weather gathering place for assemblies or eating lunch. And our high school does not have a library or media center. 

 Measure Q includes facility upgrades at all four Scotts Valley school sites:·   Priority one - replace the 67-year-old middle school with safe and modern classrooms, science labs, school library, and physical education facilities that meet current fire and earthquake safety codes and enhance the curriculum.• Replace deteriorating portables with permanent classrooms at elementary schools.• Add multipurpose rooms at elementary schools for group learning, performing arts, physical education, and for indoor meals in bad weather• Provide a high school library and media center to give students access to the books and technology needed to succeed in life 

The cost to homeowners will be $60 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Remember, this is based on the assessed value of your home and not on market value. The entire cost of Measure Q is deductible on state and federal income taxes. To find your assessed value, you can enter your address at the county assessor's website (http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/ASR/).

Mobile homes are taxed as improvements to real property. For parks where the ownership of the land is separate from the ownership of the home (such as Vista Del Lago, 444 Whispering Pines Dr.), the land assessment value assigned to the unit owner is $0. According to the Santa Cruz County Assessor's data, the average assessed value in Vista Del Lago is just under $100,000, so the Measure Q tax in that park will average $60 per year. For parks where the residents own the land (such as Montevalle, 552 Bean Creek Road), their assessment includes values for both land and improvements. The average assessed value in Montevalle is $203,000, so the Measure Q tax in that park will average $122 per year. Scotts Valley's other large park, Spring Lakes, includes a resident-owned common parcel plus the individual improvements for each lot. The average assessed value of improvements in Spring Lakes is $79,000. When including each lot's proportionate share of the Measure Q tax on the common parcel, the overall Measure Q tax average in Spring Lakes will be $60 per year. Actual taxes for individual lots within each park will vary. 

In rough terms, the middle school project will be approximately $30M, each elementary school $10M, and the high school $4M. For the breakdown of each project cost, go to the SVUSD website http://www.svusd.santacruz.k12.ca.us/PotentialBondMeasure.html and click on “Project List”.  

The Measure Q project list budget was generated through input from leading California school construction firms. It includes conservative amounts for not only the buildings but for project management, site preparation, furniture and fixtures, and student relocation. It includes contingency and escalation factors to cover uncertainties and material or labor cost increases over time. 

The Measure Q projects are all to be built on existing school sites, eliminating the need for expensive environmental studies and the uncertain issues that may arise from them, such as the need to protect endangered plants or construct offsite mitigations (traffic management, for example).  All of the Measure Q projects can utilize pre-engineered buildings which are generally of lower cost, faster assembly, and established quality control. These structures are also DSA (Department of the State Architect) pre-approved. This choice will eliminate many potential variables during both planning and construction. The District will also be eligible to bid the Measure Q projects under the ‘design-build’ program that holds the design and construction firms fully responsible for any change orders that arise after the design is approved. This will relieve the District of unanticipated cost hikes. In addition, the Measure Q budget anticipates that the District will hire its own project manager to oversee the projects and hold the contracted firms accountable for all deliverables. 

Pre-engineered school buildings are assembled on site over a concrete slab. They are typically of metal construction that reduces termite, dry rot, or mold concerns, with a stucco texture appearance. They are of DSA (Department of State Architect) pre-approved design, carry a manufacturer’s warranty, and come complete with HVAC systems.  They are expected to provide advantages in both time and cost.

With Measure Q funds in hand, the District can qualify for State matching funds made available for school construction and rehabilitation. While the Measure Q budget does not rely on receiving any such State funds, these matching funds could significantly reduce the burden to be covered by the Measure Q funds. That in turn both increases the likelihood that we can complete all of the identified projects, or reduce the amount of bonds that need to be supported by local taxes. Prior to initiating any individual construction project, bids will need to be received from prospective firms. If the bids exceed the available funds, that project would not be pursued.

Yes, both commercial and residential property will help pay for school facility improvements.

If voters approve Measure Q, our schools will be eligible for millions in state matching funds. Every few years, the state floats a multibillion-dollar bond issue for school construction, and these funds are completely separate from the state budget (which is in a sorrowful state at the moment). Scotts Valley has missed out on the last few such state bonds because we had no matching funds to qualify with. Without Measure Q, available funds remaining from the last bond, and funds from any bond that the state may issue in the next several years, will simply go to other districts. Measure Q will allow us to capture our share; it is written so our school facility projects can be completed at minimal cost to local taxpayers. If we receive matching funds, we can sell fewer local bonds and still complete our project list (we can't add any new projects, however).  By law, lottery funds must go directly into classroom instruction, and cannot be used for facility construction or repair. 

Measure Q requires a clear system of accountability including an Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee and annual independent audits to ensure that the money is spent properly. By law, money from the bond measure must stay local and can only be used to complete specific facility projects within the Scotts Valley Unified School District. The board must appoint the oversight committee within 60 days of the final election results. It must consist of at least seven members representing the business community, senior citizens, taxpayers organizations, parent-teacher organizations, and a parent. Employees and officials of the district may not serve. Meetings must be open to the public and held in accordance with the Brown Act.The committee must ensure that bond funds are properly spent as proposed on the ballot and that none are spent on school district salaries or operating expenses. It must issue annual reports available on the Internet. The committee can appeal to a judge to stop the expenditures and halt construction projects if the committee believes funds are being improperly spent.The school district must also order annual performance and financial audits of the bond funds. The board must provide the audits to the oversight committee along with other information. 

Measure Q funds cannot be used directly for teacher salaries, or for any program costs. However, by building more energy efficient facilities that require far less maintenance expense, Measure Q will help the District save considerable money on an annual basis. Those savings can go directly towards educational resources such as teacher salaries. Additionally, replacing the portable classrooms will relieve the District of lease costs currently running at $125,000 per year. These costs will soon be coming directly out of the general fund because the fund (Development Impact Fees) from which they were previously drawn has nearly run out and prospects for replenishment are dim for the foreseeable future. This additional ‘hit’ to the general fund would likely have a significant adverse impact on educational resources, including teacher salaries. 

All registered voters who live within the Scotts Valley Unified School District boundaries are eligible to vote on Measure Q in the June 3, 2008 election. To pass, Measure Q must receive at least 55% support from those who vote on the measure.

If Measure Q does not pass, the need for improved facilities will not go away. Repairs necessary to protect the health and safety of our children will not be made. Our students will continue to be taught in classrooms and science labs that can’t accommodate modern technology. Our teachers will be forced to continue teaching classes in deteriorating portables. The cost to make the needed improvements will continue to increase.

The outstanding quality of our local schools makes this a very desirable place for families to move. This increased demand for Scotts Valley area homes helps protect our property values. Good schools also enhance the quality of life in our community by being a source of social, cultural, and recreational activity.

The citizen’s oversight committee needs to be formed within 60 days. Hiring of a project manager for the middle school project, establishing the educational specifications and site planning details, obtaining State approvals, and then obtaining construction bids will likely consume the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year. Construction (demolition!) should start at the middle school in June 2009. Construction should last around 18 months with students using the new facilities by January 2011. After that, decisions will be needed regarding the next project(s). 

The Santa Cruz County Elections Office bills each jurisdiction or agency with a measure on the ballot after the election, based on their fair share allocation of the total costs to conduct the election (printing the ballots, staffing the polling places, processing absentee ballot requests, and processing overall results).  While there are fewer measures on the June election schedule, there will also be far fewer voters. Taking these issues into account, the Elections Office estimates that the cost for the June election will be $2-$3 per registered voter, and the November election will be $1.50 - $2.50 per voter. Since the Scotts Valley School District has approximately 10,000 registered voters, the difference in the estimated cost for June vs. November is approximately $5,000.

No, Prop 39 does not permit any personal or property exemptions from the bond payments. A senior’s exemption is sometimes included in a parcel tax, either reducing the overall revenue gathered or placing a higher tax burden on the other participants. If the revenue stream from a parcel tax changes from year-to-year, the programs that rely on that revenue can make corresponding adjustments. This kind of fluctuation does not work well for a bond measure, since fixed payments are required to pay off the bond debt.

A parcel tax requires 2/3 voter and commonly involves an equal assessment against all parcels regardless of the parcel value. Because certain classes of parcel owners are typically exempted from parcel taxes, there are only an estimated 5800 parcels in the District (out of a total exceeding 7300) that would participate, placing a much higher tax burden on lower valued properties whose owners do not qualify for an exemption. Because of the high electoral threshold and this tax burden shift, the likelihood of passage is considerably reduced.  Parcel taxes are rarely used to support facility construction, but instead are usually intended to create a revenue stream for running specific programs. Considering ongoing State budget difficulties, financial advisors have noted a risk that the legislature could cut State funding to districts that have demonstrated an ability and willingness to pass local Parcel Tax measures for educational programs. Since Scotts Valley Unified School District is already severely underfunded by the State relative to other Districts, this risk is something to seriously consider. 

Enrollment has always moved in cycles, typically tied to the economy and housing prices.  In 1999, a demographic study suggested that Scotts Valley should consider a third elementary school. Current demographic trends are showing reduced student population throughout Santa Cruz County. It is now widely recognized that demographic projections more than three years out are not very reliable, as they cannot anticipate the macroeconomic events that truly drive local population shifts. The two elementary schools were built to house approximately 300 students each; both schools currently house more than 600. The middle school is currently ideally located in the center of the District, and the elementary schools are located at opposite ends of the district. Although all three sites (and the high school) are a bit small for their population, better use of each site (by building 2-story classroom buildings) will help quite a bit.

The economy also goes in cycles. While no one can say when conditions will markedly improve, we should have confidence that they will (because ‘consumer confidence’ is at the heart of our economic strength). There are few better investments in America, and in our local community, than school infrastructure that will last many, many years (through this and many more economic cycles).

 The high school faced several challenges that do not exist for these projects, including having to find and acquire land, extensive on-site site grading, and protections for endangered plants. There were many problems with project oversight and a lack of quality control. Everyone is aware of those problems, and everyone will be paying 100% attention to not repeat them. It begins with sufficient planning, continues with effective project management, and ends with diligent financial oversight. The voters and taxpayers of Scotts Valley deserve better school infrastructure and they have a right to demand nothing less. Measure Q is their chance to meet these needs. 

  By law, only those projects specified in the District’s resolution (in the ballot pamphlet) can be funded by Measure Q. There are no hidden projects. Measure Q funds can only be used to build the middle school, replace portables classrooms and install multipurpose rooms at the elementary schools, and build and library / media center at the high school. 

No, contributions to political campaigns are not tax deduction.

Our sign-up sheet is available on-line, at: www1.mysignup.com/cgi-bin/view.cgi.  You can sign up for any day that fits into your schedule, or contact one of the site coordinators listed on that page to make special arrangements. Directly contacting Scotts Valley voters is the most effective way to help them understand what Measure Q is all about and helps us identify our supporters so we can follow-up with them and make sure they vote! 

Yes.  The postal mailing address is:

Yes!  You can contact us via the Contact link on the left of the screen.