The South San Francisco Unified School District has 15 schools. The oldest was built in 1936, and most of the others were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. They need to be modernized. There is flooding. The district pays $6 million to $8 million a year simply to repair and maintain its facilities. There are security concerns. The list goes on, and the district has a facilities master plan totaling around $850 million.
To help address this, the school district is asking voters to approve a $436 million bond measure to chip away at its facilities needs. This is a large amount; however, it will still only address the most pressing needs while also exploring staff housing opportunities to provide another way to attract and retain teachers and other employees in this high cost area.
While opponents suggest the district should have been repairing and maintaining its buildings better over the decades, the reality is that we are in this current situation with these current needs. Opponents say there should be more specificity in the project list in the bond language, yet, the facilities master plan is rather clear on the current and future needs. Opponents also say these are too large of projects for the district to oversee. These are all valid points, but on this one, who is better equipped that an elected board, its professionally hired staff and its contractors who are experts in their field?
One cannot discuss a bond measure without mentioning the specter of Measure J, which was tangled in a bad contract and later legal issues. It is important to note that no one who oversaw that bond measure remains at the administrative or board level, and the district has been in solid hands in recent years. While that memory remains, Measure T should be seen in a completely different way.
It is needed and the oversight will be there. Lessons were learned, and this investment will be worth it for the students and the community.
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