Local school districts raise concerns over aging classrooms in Santa Ynez Valley

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – Aging school facilities in Santa Ynez are raising concerns for the community.

Some classrooms are more than 60 years old and falling apart.

So the school board passed a resolution to place Bond Measure Y on the November ballot to address the aging facilities.

Both the College School District (CSD) Board and the Santa Ynez Valley Charter School (SYVCS) Board recognize the great need to address critical facilities repairs and replacements at our local schools.

To meet this need, the CSD voted unanimously to place Measure Y on the Nov. 8 ballot for voters to then decide on.

The CSD and SYVCS boards feel strongly that all students deserve to learn in safe, quality classrooms and school facilities.

Their priorities include ensuring academic success for every student, and ensuring local school facilities and grounds are safe, secure, modern, and equipped to provide the best educational environment
possible.

The school board says the community has a long history of prioritizing education, with one of the oldest education institutions in California, and classes held at the college campus since the late 1800s. With that comes schools built 60-80 years ago that are critically overdue for repairs.

They believe the aging school upgrades are needed to meet current health and building safety codes, provide proper access for students with disabilities, and remove hazardous materials like asbestos and lead pipes. Basic repairs are critically needed including replacing deteriorating roofs, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems.

The following includes the top facilities needs:

• Upgrade older schools built 60-80 years ago to meet current health and building safety codes, and provide proper access to students with disabilities.

• Repair and replace deteriorating roofs, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and electrical systems where needed.

• Remove hazardous materials like asbestos and lead pipes from our older schools.

• Provide modern multi-use classrooms, labs, and the technology needed to support high-quality instruction in math, science, engineering, and technology, with hands-on learning by-doing.

• Upgrade classrooms and computer systems to keep pace with technology.

• Replace aging portable classrooms and surplus WW2 barracks that are expensive to repair and maintain with modern, permanent classrooms.

In order to meet these needs and more, Measure Y has been placed on the Nov. 8 ballot seeking voter authorization to issue bonds to repair and upgrade local school facilities. The measure requires 55% support to pass.

A “YES” vote approves funding for the plan to repair and upgrade schools; a “NO” vote rejects the plan.
All voters living within the College School District boundaries who are registered to vote will be eligible to vote on this ballot measure.

The proposed $23 million bond translates to about 3 cents per year for every $100 of a property’s assessed valuation while bonds are outstanding.

The assessed valuation refers to taxable value, not the market value of your home.

The taxable value of your home or business will depend on when you purchased it.

If the bond is approved, the typical homeowner in our school district will pay about $207 a year, or $17.25 a month.

Measure Y requires an Independent Citizen’s Oversight committee and mandatory independent audits to ensure proper use of funds. By Law, no funds are allowed for administrators' salaries, benefits, or pensions.

All funds are required to stay local for local public schools and cannot be taken away by the state.