A decade ago, the Padres were on their way to the World Series, home prices were skyrocketing and Proposition MM was a household name – thanks to unprecedented cooperation among teachers, parents, business leaders and a newly hired superintendent.
Fast-forward to 2008.
Proposition S, the $2.1 billion bond measure to upgrade and rebuild San Diego schools, has a decidedly lower profile around San Diego.
School districts and their superintendents are keeping their heads down, in part because they don't want to end up in court. A string of lawsuits over the years have accused districts of crossing the line – from legally educating the public about an initiative to illegally advocating for their votes.
Proposition S proponents say the bond initiative is desperately needed to revamp and modernize the 180 campuses throughout the San Diego Unified School District.
Unlike the last bond, Proposition S would not build new schools. Enrollment has dropped in the past decade, and many schools are scrambling to occupy the buildings they have.
But many campuses operate with outdated and, in some cases, dilapidated conditions.
More than half of the district's school buildings were built before John F. Kennedy was president in the early 1960s. And of the 2,400 portable classrooms that dot the landscapes of San Diego campuses, more than 800 were built more than 40 years ago.
Included in the massive fix-it list:
Renovated campus bathrooms and kitchens.
Rebuilding vocational classrooms and laboratories.
Wireless Internet and other technology advances for classrooms.
Improvements to campus safety and security systems.
Replacement of old portable restrooms.
Removal of hazardous substances.
Air-conditioning units for some classrooms.
Revamped and new auditoriums.
Additionally, the bond measure would give every district campus – including independently operated charter schools – a lump sum of $150 per student for discretionary spending. The bond includes about $100 million in renovations to charter schools housed on district campuses.
To find out what upgrades will come to any particular school in the district, check the district Web site. An interactive feature provides a satellite image of a school and a complete inventory of repairs it is slated to get.
All told, San Diego Unified needs repairs and upgrades that total more than $5.5 billion. But planning for a bond means not asking for so much that it scares away voters, while making sure that the initiative would make a substantial dent in the facility needs.
Proposition MM would sunset in 2029. Proposition S would seamlessly extend the existing Proposition MM tax rate – $66.70 per $100,000 assessed value of taxable property – through 2044. The initiative would come with accountability requirements, including an independent oversight committee to monitor bond expenditures.
Proposition MM passed with more than 70 percent of the vote, more than the two-thirds needed at the time. The law has changed in the past decade, making it easier to pass school bonds.
Earlier this year, several local bonds passed in San Diego County: Oceanside ($195 million), Poway ($79 million), Rancho Santa Fe ($34 million) and Cajon Valley ($156 million).
But Proposition S comes amid a mounting financial crisis.
The initiative has support from a cross-section of the community, including the San Diego Education Association, the San Diego Taxpayers Association and the local PTA.
The most vocal opposition to the measure comes from Richard Rider, chairman of the anti-tax group San Diego Tax Fighters, and Pat Flannery, a real estate broker and political blogger.
They argue that San Diegans already pay among the highest property taxes in the nation and that the school levy is excessive. They also say downtown real estate taxes subsidize downtown development, when they should pay for other services, including schools.
Maureen Magee: (619) 293-1369; maureen.magee@uniontrib.com
