No on GUHSD Measure BB, for now

Grossmont Union High School District Governing Board has placed Measure BB on the ballot, for another whopping $128 million. It needs a 55 percent vote for approval. This is a cost of $256 million to taxpayers over decades. Although I realize that there is the need for upgrades, renovations, technology to keep our youth educated and up to date, Measure BB offers little explanation and a lot of leeway in the expenditure of this money. I’ve asked many people about this Measure and other Measures out there.

Grossmont Union High School District Governing Board has placed Measure BB on the ballot, for another whopping $128 million. It needs a 55 percent vote for approval. This is a cost of $256 million to taxpayers over decades. Although I realize that there is the need for upgrades, renovations, technology to keep our youth educated and up to date, Measure BB offers little explanation and a lot of leeway in the expenditure of this money. I’ve asked many people about this Measure and other Measures out there. This is the most contentious Measure on the ballot in East County as I see it.

With many people that I speak to, it is not about the money. It is about the Governing Board that is in control of it. It dangled the promise of a high school for Alpine and now it whines at the tens-of-thousands that it is incurring in legal bills. Its actions as a Board did this, not the community of Alpine. Much of this money for schools is being thrown straight into the legal firms’ coffers. If you go back to the $416 million Proposition U, it clearly states that it would “construct a new high school in the Alpine/Blossom Valley area.”

Handling of Proposition/Measure money is quickly oversighted by many when they see the results of major renovations to local schools. Valhalla High School just rededicated its newest renovations that makes the idea of spending more taxpayer dollars on education much easier. But, that is only one segment of how this money is spent and little is discussed on how bonds work. There are scathing editorials and letters out that show a lot of concern in the trust that the District has with the people in picking and choosing what will and can be done with the money. More than the enormous money that these bonds incurs on taxpayers, it is trust in the Board that is in the forefront of the issue.

If Measure BB passes it will add up to more than $1 billion dollars when added with Proposition H and Proposition U. The District still has the authority to issue another $100 million in Proposition U funds, and it is already asking for more. Still with promises to the Alpine community, that show no signs of being honored.

I am not saying that schools in the District do not need upgrading, but from my viewpoint, Measure BB is premature and not required at this time. Especially how it is written now with no specific details on the plans. When reading through the Measure, its list of renovations is basically the same for each school, but written differently. There are a few exceptions of special projects, but overall it is obscure language that shows no definitive guidelines on how this money will be spent.

With two seats open for the Governing Board this election, one open and one incumbent, there will be some fresh blood on the board and that is something that many people that I speak to are hoping will happen. The trust is gone with many on the current Board, and it is not just coming from the Alpine community. It comes from the amount of money that the District is burning through, the lack of oversight, and an inept Oversight Committee. If they sell all of the bonds allowed under Measure BB, the cost to taxpayers will double the cost to the taxpayer. This alone deserves strict scrutiny.

It is time that the public demands better bond measures overall. This is not a new problem in the system, and there are very few in the system that are willing to change it for the benefit of their constituents. This Measure needs to be put on hold and see if fresh blood in the GUHSD can make a difference in bringing trust back to the community it serves. It amazes me that with all of the information that has been given on bad bonds that people keep allowing their communities to pay out these atrocities and passing these debts down to generations. GUHSD needs to go back to the drawing board providing clear detail on how this money will be spent and include language that makes it stick to its plans. There is too much margin of error in the spending of its bond money, lack of trust in the current board and falls short in its oversight.