West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond.
Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource
More than 1 in 4 school districts are asking local voters to approve a record $39 billion in school construction bonds on the Nov. 5 ballot. Those that pass will jockey for some of the $10 billion in matching state funding that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are asking voters to approve by passing Proposition 2.
The facility needs of districts are huge and growing, even as the state’s overall enrollment is projected to decline over the next two decades.
Decades-old “portable” classrooms are falling apart; many air conditioners are malfunctioning, and classrooms without them are sweltering. Roofs leak, plumbing is corroding, wiring is fraying.
Parents worry about open access to insecure campuses. Schools lack room for new transitional kindergarten classes and plans for climate-resilient,…
