San Jacinto Unified Seeking $78M In Bonds With Measure C

This November, voters in the San Jacinto Unified School District will be asked whether or not to approve Measure C, a $78 million bond package that will be used to modernize aging infrastructure in the district.

“We can’t predict the future perfectly, but demographics would indicate that our enrollment is kind of leveling off a little bit,” Seth Heeren, assistant superintendent of Business Services, said. “And so where we see the need for this bond is more kind of on the modernization side, replacement of portable classrooms that are well beyond their recommended age, those types of projects.”

And while the needs identified in the district’s Facilities Master Plan far exceed the $78 million the district is asking voters to approve, Heeren said it would allow for the updating of existing facilities throughout the district.

Prior to heading out for bond, the district decided against polling the community.

“Honestly, it’s expensive, and we feel like this is the right thing to do for our community,” Heeren said. “We hope that voters agree with that.”

But that doesn’t mean that the district hasn’t been working to get the message out about the importance of this bond measure, with Heeren attending community events, parent forums, school site council meetings and local organization meetings to explain the process and the need.

“This is how schools are funded,” Heeren said he told the groups. “The money that we get for enrollment and attendance pays primarily for the salaries of our teachers and our staff that are working in our classrooms. There’s not millions of extra dollars to build and modernize schools.”

Heeren also told them that while there are hardship and matching funds available from the state, the state requires school districts to prove that they have made an effort to secure local funds.

“The only way to really do that is to ask voters to see if they’ll support you to bond,” he said.

Voters previously approved Measure Y in 2016, which provided the district with $44.5 million in bonds used for the modernization and new construction projects across the district.

“We do have some bonds that are technically unspent, but they’re mostly encumbered,” Heeren said. “We’re building a K-5 elementary school right now, and it will open one year from now, actually a little less, so while the funds are unspent, most of the funds from our previous bond measure and from some other financing we did will be exhausted by the time we build it.”

When it comes to property taxes, the district is asking voters to approve a levy of up to $59 for every $100,000 in assessed value for all residential, commercial and industrial properties. Heeren said the average property owner would be an increase of approximately $180 per year.

“I’m extremely mindful of the fact that in underserved communities like San Jacinto and Hemet and, you know, take your pick of the communities that tend to have students and families that struggle more, that the tax burden is higher per assessed value in the communities with lower assessed value,” Heeren said. “Students in San Jacinto and Hemet, and name your kind of underserved community, they deserve quality school facilities too.”

Heeren said now is the right time for this bond because not only is the state also going out for a bond measure in Proposition 2, which will provide $8.5 billion in matching funds for elementary and secondary school projects if approved by voters, but also because the students of San Jacinto deserve modernized facilities.

“The bottom line is they deserve better than a portable classroom that’s past its useful age,” he said. “The air conditioning works, the doors work, they’re safe … but [our students] deserve more modern facilities.”