The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education approved moving forward with drafting two measures for the November presidential election that would put a bond and parcel tax on the ballot for voters to decide on.
The move, approved unanimously at a Feb. 29 special meeting, will allow district staff to draft final language, with the board expected to vote on final approval in May.
Exact details of the potential measures are still to be decided before the board’s May 23 meeting, such as the bond and tax amounts, the parcel tax duration, and the bond project list.
According to initial recommendations, the bond would generate $900 million over 25 to 35 years for capital facility improvements by increasing taxes by a rate of $60 per $100,000, if at least 55% of voters approve.
The parcel tax would generate an estimated $5.5 million per year for eight years to fund operations through a $90 per parcel tax, if at least 66.7% of voters approve.
Pasadena voters were surveyed on potential language for the bond measure, with 67% of respondents saying that they would approve the following if on the ballot in November:
“With funds that cannot be taken by the State and spent elsewhere, shall Pasadena Unified School District’s measure to improve student safety and upgrade campus security; renovate aging classrooms, restrooms, and roofs; upgrade athletic fields and facilities; and repair inefficient electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems be approved, authorizing $900 million of bonds with levies below 6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation (generating $55 million annually) with legal rates, citizen oversight, no funds for administrator salaries or benefits and full public disclosure of spending?”
For the parcel tax bond measure, 68% of respondents said they would vote to approve with the following language:
“To improve and expand academic programs including Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics; retain highly qualified teachers…
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