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A Pig in A Poke: Measure A and Measure G
Two school bond tax measures are simultaneously generating huge controversies in Southern Marin. There’s Tamalpais Union High School District’s Measure A on the March 2024 ballot, a poorly prioritized proposal to update campus buildings by issuing $517 million in bonds officially estimated to cost taxpayers $1.04 billion with interest. And then there’s Mill Valley School District’s November 2022 Measure G $194 million bond measure intended to modernize the middle and five elementary schools. Both Measures G and A turn out to be a pig in a poke.
Caveat emptor.
A Pig in a Poke is something that you buy without knowing its value or exactly what you will receive, which is exactly what we’re all now discovering happened with in Mill Valley.
Measure G, on the ballot, asked voters this 75-word question:
To upgrade classrooms, science labs and learning technology in Mill Valley elementary and middle schools; repair/replace leaky roofs/windows, improve accessibility for students with disabilities; add solar and replace outdated/inefficient heating, ventilation, electrical/plumbing systems; shall Mill Valley School District’s measure to issue $194,000,000 in bonds at legal interest rates be adopted, raising approximately $9,300,000 annually while bonds are outstanding averaging 2.6¢ per $100 of assessed value, with oversight, annual audits and all funds improving local schools?
Most voters read only the 75 words before filling in the Yes or No bubble. The choice of words is guided by consultants and pollsters that the district commissions, at taxpayer expense, to see which words prompt the most Yes votes. In the voter guide, which few voters read, there is a longer description, the ballot resolution, which legally constrains what funds raised from the sale of bonds can be used for.
The ballot resolution is, in effect, a menu. Once the money is in hand, the District claims an entitlement to spend it on whatever it wishes, as long as it’s on the menu.
In Mill Valley, the voters were led to believe by Measure G proponents that it would fund both repairs and upgrades at the middle school and at all five elementary schools. The ballot question and the resolution promised to do all that. And as it turned out, $194 million wasn’t nearly enough to do so. In fact, it became clear that Measure G was hard-pressed to even remodel or build a new middle school and provide temporary classrooms for use during the construction period.
The upshot is the current Mill Valley School District proposal to place the new middle school on the current site of Friends Field. This eleventh hour proposal was never mentioned in Measure G or contemplated by the voters. It would destroy a much beloved venue for sports and community events and entail the use of bond funds for activities at a different location from the one mentioned in the ballot resolution’s expansive menu while leaving little to no money for elementary school repairs and upgrades that voters voters expected.
The Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers sent a letter to the Measure G Citizens Bond Oversight Committee– a body required by California law to vet each school bond’s use of funds -- urging it to object to Friends Field expenditures as not permitted by the bond resolution. CBOCs serve as public watchdogs and can exercise their oversight authority to prevent the waste of taxpayer dollars.
In the same moment, TUHSD’s Measure A presents voters with a very similar question on the March 5, 2024 ballot:
To repair and upgrade local high schools by updating classrooms/ science labs/ classroom technology/ equipment; repairing/ replacing leaking roofs and inefficient heating/ cooling/ electrical/ plumbing systems; updating art/ music classrooms/ facilities; and repairing/ replacing outdated portable classrooms, shall Tamalpais Union High School District’s measure be adopted authorizing $517,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, levying $30 per $100,000 assessed value while bonds are outstanding ($36,000,000 annually) with independent oversight, annual audits, no funds for administrators and all funds locally controlled?
Once again, neither the ballot question nor the resolution promises to complete any specific project. It’s a pig in a poke. But Measure A has two large signature projects teed up at the front of the queue, one each at Tam High (Priority 1, “Must Do” new classroom building, latest cost estimate of $90 million) and Redwood High (Priority 2 “Should Do” cafeteria-commons-art complex, latest cost estimate $104 million).
These have both experienced significant cost increases since first contemplated in spring 2022. Given site challenges (especially on Tam High’s hillside), uncertainty regarding prospects of funding from the state, and other unknowns, it’s too soon to be certain how much these two projects will ultimately cost and which of the other projects on the list will be funded with what’s left over.
What happens if the bond measure’s not enough?
If a bond measure turns out to not be large enough to fund everything, the school district must reconsider the specifics of its construction plans (e.g., go for a more cost-effective solution), reprioritize, or seek more funds.
For Measure G, this might mean renovating part of the existing middle school, leaving Friends Field intact and perhaps some modest funding left over for elementary school repairs.
For Measure A, bond proceeds are likely more than sufficient to fund the two largest projects at the front of the queue, which could move forward quickly given the millions already invested in architectural plans and consultants; downsizing those plans to ensure adequate funding for the rest of the project list seems unlikely. Districts do have the option of coming back to voters in a few years with a second bond measure, as Tam Union did in the early 2000’s.
But the appetite for that may be waning thanks to the Pig in Poke.
Outcomes of Measures G and A May Have Lasting Impact.
The long-term result of the controversies swirling around Measures G and A may, necessarily, be a new paradigm for Marin school bond measures: smaller, more focused on essential activities, and more precisely defined/limited by language on the ballot and in the voter guide. Voters may become more choosy, approving future school bonds only if the projects funded are truly necessary, the amount of money is reasonable, they know what it will buy, and can count on stronger CBOCs to ensure funds are spent as promised.
Mimi Willard is the President of the Coalition of Sensible Taxpayers, http://Costmarin.org. She is also heading the No on Measure A TUHSD campaign for the March 5, 2024 election https://noonatuhsd.com/