Reality check is a Fresno Bee series that holds those in power accountable and shines a light on their decisions. Do you have a tip? Email tips@fresnobee.com.
The Fresno Unified School District will ask voters next month to approve the largest-ever bond measure to pay for repairs to aging facilities and reduce overcrowded classrooms.
The $500 million bond, Measure H, is one of several Fresno County school bonds that will be voted on this election, which together will include a proposed $1.3 billion bond issue. Clovis Unified is proposing a $400 million bond to complete construction of the new Clovis South High School. Central Unified and Sanger Unified are posting $109 million and $174 million bonds, respectively.
Fresno Unified officials are still figuring out exactly how they would spend the new bond funds, but say they urgently need voters to support the new bond.
Here’s what we know.
School infrastructure is falling apart, officials say
Lola Medina Flores, a junior at Fresno High, said the school’s iconic Royce Hall is the “coolest” place on campus, not because of its historical significance for the area’s oldest high school, but because it is the only building where the air conditioning never breaks down.
“Other ACs would break down at some point. Our student leadership gathering space does not have air conditioning,” she said. “At least one class per week must be moved to another location, depending on classroom availability, as some classrooms have no windows and the temperature is too high.”
Fresno High’s cafeteria, a basement lobby shaded by rows of chairs and boxes stacked against the wall, serves 2,000 students every day.
But the cafeteria doesn’t have enough seating, so students eat outside, where there are only a handful of covered tables and benches, Medina Flores said. Some teachers allow students to eat in their classrooms.
The district has long planned to build a new two-story cafeteria and used a portion of 2010 Measure Q to fund its design. However, district officials have put construction on the agenda for future bonds, and this sector continues to take a back seat to other projects considered more urgent.
Because more than two-thirds of its 106 schools were built before 1970, the state’s third-largest school district estimates it needs more than $2.5 billion for infrastructure improvements.
A districtwide assessment of facilities in 2023 found the need is more apparent in Fresno Unified’s elementary schools, half of which the district assessed as being in “poor” and “unsatisfactory” conditions. These schools have “numerous problems in meeting the educational needs of students” and require major repairs, the assessment found.
Interim Superintendent Misty Her said the district has made patch repairs to several elementary school water pipes that were on the verge of breaking. But she said it was “only a matter of time” before a major break forced schools to close.
“My biggest fear is what to do if entire primary school children cannot go to school and we have nowhere else to accommodate them because major pipes are broken,” Her said.
Some campuses are too outdated to meet ADA requirements for children with disabilities to travel to the nurse’s office.
“We have a child who needs a procedure every day. We can’t even get the student’s wheelchair into the nurse’s office,” Her said. “This is a life-saving procedure for a child. This is what we’re talking about when I say we need this band.
What the bond would pay for
While the project list has not yet been finalized and approved by the school board, some of the major needs include maintaining infrastructure such as air conditioning, water and sewer, playground equipment and adding turf, tracks, lighting and safety features.
In previous bond allocations, Fresno Unified distributed the funds evenly to each high school district, with the exception of major expenditures such as construction of new schools and career and technical education facilities.
For the new bond, district leaders want to prioritize projects in schools with the worst conditions, even if it means some trust areas would see less funding because their schools are in better condition overall.
Fresno Unified has developed a stock index that ranks schools using a formula that takes into account the socioeconomic status of students, the conditions of the facilities, the suitability and sustainability of the facilities, and how schools benefit their neighborhoods.
“If you look at the distribution of who is more likely to stay in a facility in poor condition, and who is less likely to stay in an outdated facility, there is a pattern related to student demographics and also where they may go,” said Anton Blewett of the RSS Consultant, the company that was commissioned to develop the tool.
Trustee Andy Levine, a proponent of the stock index, said prioritizing schools with the greatest needs helps improve student outcomes.
The teachers union is getting a carveout
As a result of the teachers union contract negotiated last year, one-third of the bond – $167 million – will be invested in classrooms. This includes replacing outdated portable devices and upgrading learning and meeting spaces.
Fresno Unified has 1,085 portable buildings added to school sites to meet temporary demand. The lifespan of the wearable devices averages 20 to 30 years, but 1,004 of these wearable devices are older than 20 years. More than 30 portables are more than 60 years old.
“We have a number of wearable devices that qualify for AARP benefits,” Trustee Elizabeth Jonason Rosas said at a recent board meeting.
“These buildings were not intended to remain there for so long, and that creates all kinds of circumstances,” she says. “We’ve heard about mold, I’ve seen torn carpets and there are accessibility issues as the sidewalk sinks.”
A well-known cycle
Like clockwork, the district has asked voters to approve a school bond every four years.
Measure H will be the fourth Fresno Unified bond since 2010 to go before voters, who passed the $350 million Measure M in 2020, the $225 million Measure X in 2016 and the $280 million Measure Q in 2010.
So why does Fresno Unified want to pass on yet another bond?
Part of the reason stems from the way school facilities are funded in California. While the state pays schools per student for operating costs, such as salaries for teachers, administrators and classified staff, it is largely up to local districts to finance capital needs such as building new schools or modernizing older schools.
While there is no organized opposition campaign, the school district may face voter fatigue at the ballot box. However, officials say they continue to rely on school bonds because the district’s aging facilities need billions of dollars in overdue repairs.
Measure H would only cover about 20% of Fresno Unified’s current infrastructure backlog, said Paul Idsvoog, the district’s chief operations officer.
The district will exhaust the remaining $60 million from Measure M over the next two years, Idsvoog said. Approximately $80 million in deferred maintenance and remaining projects earmarked in previous bonds will be transferred to Measure H.
How Bonds Affect Taxpayers
The $500 million that will result in a tax increase of $25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. The current tax rate of $213.86 is the second highest among all K-12 school districts in Fresno County. If the new bond passes with the required approval of 55% of voters, the tax rate will increase to $238.86.
