Will Lodi Unified place a bond measure on November ballot?

Wes Bowers, Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.
·4 min read

May 9—The Lodi Unified School District might ask voters to support a new bond measure in November.

Staff presented the district's Board of Education with survey results gauging community support during its Tuesday night meeting, which revealed the majority of those polled would support a new bond measure.

While board members said a new bond was needed for a variety of district projects, many of them wanted more information about who was surveyed before committing to drafting a resolution.

"Of the 406 (people surveyed), we don't know the demographic in any way, shape or form," board member Courtney Porter said. "For me to sit here tonight and make a decision based on a pool size of 406 and not know anything about them, I don't want to support a resolution."

Mark Farrell, a member of the district's facilities committee, said about 1,000 community members were contacted between Jan. 24 and 28 to determine if they would support a new bond measure, of which 406 responded.

Survey results revealed that 55% of those surveyed said they would support a $452 million bond if the election were held today, and 62% said they'd support a $212 million bond.

With the $452 million bond, voters would pay less than $60 per $100,000 assessed valuation of their property, raising $24.4 million annually for the district.

The $212 million bond would see voters paying less than $43 per $100,000 of assessed valuation of their property, raising $12.8 million annually.

Voters said they were more likely to support a measure if the bonds were allocated toward certain projects such as renovating career technical classrooms; expanding STEAM classroom and labs; repairing and replacing leaky roofs; upgrading HVAC systems; and ensuring ADA accessibility.

"All these projects that were tested — and these were things the district would need to do and could use bond money on — all of these projects were very well supported," Farrell said. "It seems there is a perceived need that these projects would be beneficial, and voters seem to be willing to support a bond for."

In addition, Farrell said voters were more likely to vote for the $212 million bond if their property taxes did not increase.

While 62% of those surveyed favored the $212 million bond, 15% were against it. However, 10% said they were leaning toward a yes vote, while 6% said they were leaning toward a no vote. The remaining 7% did not know how they would vote if an election were held today, Farrell said.

Other questions posed during the survey included whether voters had children or grandchildren enrolled in the district; how they would rate their students' quality of education; if Lodi Unified was fiscally responsible; and if they agreed that Measure U projects had been successfully completed, the latter of which 55% responded that they did not know.

Board members felt that not enough information about those surveyed was presented in the results, such as whether they were property owners or renters.

"I'd like to know who was surveyed, a percentage or breakdown of people, since it is property owners (who will be paying for a bond)," board member Sue Macfarland said. "A certain percentage of voters didn't even know how our last bond did. I need a little more about those 406 people."

Board member Joe Nava favored drafting a resolution as soon as possible, stating the questions asked Tuesday were also posed in 2016 when the district campaigned for Measure U.

He said that measure passed because district representatives informed voters at a variety of public hearings and meetings, and answered their questions.

"We need the money, and if we don't get this measure, then we're back to zero, and then nothing gets done," he said. "It's a shot. It's the voters' decision to do this, not ours. It's their decision to get what's needed for Lodi Unified to improve."

Staff will provide additional information to the board at its June 4 meeting. The board will then determine whether to direct staff to draft a bond measure resolution, which needs to be submitted to San Joaquin County by Aug. 9.