School district trustees will vote tonight on whether to tax local property owners to finish renovations at Fort Bragg High School and Dana Gray Elementary.
Superintendent Steve Lund will recommend an annual fee of $22 per $100,000 in assessed value to the board, to raise about $16 million to finish the modernization process for school buildings.
A survey of 362 potential voters revealed 60.5 percent would support a tax of up to $25 per $100,000 in assessed value, Abel J. Guillen of the consulting firm Caldwell Flores Winters told the board at their January meeting. A firm representative will be at tonight”s meeting to answer any questions from the public or the board.
The district passed Measure D in 2003, which paid for upgrading of the middle school and other district facilities.
In November 2003, a tax of up to $50 per $100,000 in assessed value won a 66 percent yes vote from district voters. That tax actually has never gone as high as $50, but may do so this year. The $22 million raised by that bond authorization has been used to restore the middle school and other facilities.
Construction costs have skyrocketed in recent years. Now, more money is needed for modernization of the high school and Dana Gray. Modular classrooms are being brought to the schools as the district works with the money it already has to complete the project.
The work at Fort Bragg High and Dana Gray Elementary will include replacing leaky roofs, telephones, outdated heating and plumbing systems and installing security lights. The retrofit would feature installation of solar photovoltaic systems as part of a plan to install more efficient energy systems that will save the district general fund hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs.
To get approval of the bond issue by people surveyed, an independent oversight committee will be assembled, along with annual audits and a pledge that no money be spent on administrative salaries.
Caldwell Flores Winters has done similar surveys for hundreds of California school districts and conducted a survey in Fort Bragg five years ago.
Guillen said the district has built a relationship of trust with the community during that time. Those surveyed had an overall positive view of the district”s direction, contrasting with their negative view of the state”s direction.
The highest rating was for Fort Bragg teachers, who scored a 90 percent approval rating, Guillen reported.
Improvements to athletic facilities, such as tennis courts and the high school stadium, didn”t get the magic 55 percent approval rating from those surveyed, so other ways of funding those projects will need to be found, Lund said.
The time period of the assessment and exact amounts of the bond will be determined when trustees make their final decision on Thursday.
The proposal as written, contains the caveat that if structures at the high school or Dana Gray turn out to be worse than thought, they can be replaced rather than renovated.
The meeting will be held tonight at 6:30 at the John Diedrich Educational Center, which is just north of the high school on Dana Street.
