San Bernardino: Measure N Passed, Now What?

Measure N has passed by an overwhelming majority. I voted no on the measure because I think that the San Bernardino Unified School District is taking on too much bond debt that will push total outstanding bond to about $1 Billion Dollars of principle and interest payments.

However, the voters have spoken and the school board has a mandate to disburse this bond money on capital projects that will upgrade schools with saftey improvements, equipment replacement, and other materials and projects.

It must be restated and the school board held to account that NONE of this bond money is to be used for salary or other operational costs.

But this is just one area where voters have to keep an eye out for. The following are other areas in which I will be keeping an eye on in the coming months.

OVERSIGHT BOARD

A citizens oversight committee is to be established in accordance with Education Code Section 15272. The board consists of a bonafide taxpayer association, a business organization, and a senior citizen organization. No district employees or vendors are allowed to serve on this board.

I do hope that they include an financial advisor for the purposes of making sure that interst payments do not exceed the principle of issued bonds.

In addition, I would like to see a minority organization included as well because the majority of students in this district are of color.

API/AYP STATISTICS

$250 Million Dollars is not chump change. Our taxpayer dollars are going to fund these construction projects that our board deems necessary. However, these expenditures need to be tied to results. Why go into all this debt, if there is nothing to show for it? San Bernardino Unified has the lowest API/AYP statistics in the region. These dollars must be tied to this metric of improved performance.

ELECTION YEAR SHENNANIGANS

An election year trick is to start projects during an election year so the board members can show voters all the good things going on in the district in hopes of getting reelected. These types of tricks should not be tolerated by the voters! The timing of bond releases affects how much we have to pay in principle and interest on these bonds. Ill timed releases can increase costs by millions of dollars with nothing to show for it except a reelected school board member.