SHADOWS OVER SOLAR

This is a cautionary tale for every taxpayer faced with a school bond.

In the case of the Ventura Unified School District, the scam is so blatant.

In 2022 they passed an over $400 million bond.  Then, illegally, they entered into a contract to buy $40 million worth of solar panels.  Part of the agreement was that the firm was going to rebate the $14 million government rebate to the District.  Instead of using the $14 million to help pay off the bond, the district is putting the money into the General Fund.

To make matters worse, the same district is asking for a parcel tax on this November 5^th ballot.  Looks like they are trying hard to raise the cost of housing—and create a massive pot of money—in a district that has lost 2500 students in the past twelve years.

SHADOWS OVER SOLAR

Ventura County Taxpayers Association,  10/8/24  https://vcta.org/news/f/shadows-over-solar

VUSD’s Rebate Decision & Oversight Committee Shake-Up

When managing taxpayer money, Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) demonstrates the public should not trust it. Taxpayers voted to pass Measure E in 2022, a $434 million, 20-year parcel tax on property owners. Voters passed the measure to improve our local schools’ safety, infrastructure, and learning environments. Measure E has a state mandated Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee to ensure VUSD uses the $434 million to benefit the students and families of Ventura. 

In November 2024, VUSD placed Measure H on the ballot, asking voters to extend the $59 parcel tax. Voters must ask themselves two questions: 1) When is enough enough? And, 2) what assurances will VUSD give to manage the money more wisely than Measure E?

When Is Enough Enough?

Ventura Unified told voters that the $434 million raised by Measure E was for immediate needs such as air conditioning, play structures and critical security measures. Voters agreed. Yet, VUSD knew that the $59 parcel tax expired in 2024. Why didn’t they plan on that eventuality when calculating how much to ask for in Measure E? There can be only two reasons. Either VUSD miscalculated its needs when asking for Measure E, or the district is mismanaged and hopes that voters will not remember it when they go to the polls in November 2024. 

Violations of Measure E Should Worry Everybody

In the first year after Measure E passed, VUSD purposefully violated its fiduciary duty to spend money on a project not explicitly stated to voters. In 2023, VUSD signed a $40 million contract for solar installations with ENGIE, a non-local company. Why did VUSD prioritize solar panels at Ventura High School over addressing primary student needs first? There are 14 million reasons. 

ENGIE enticed the district with a potential $14-million rebate from the solar purchase that would be available sometime after 2026. Some might say that VUSD negotiated well to get another $14 million to commit to further critical repairs that had been de-prioritized, but the situation gets ugly here. VUSD found a loophole to dedicate $14 million to the general fund for salaries and other general fund expenditures, not repairs. When pressed by Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee members to commit the $14 million to bond measure projects, the Ventura Unified Board of Trustees refused. The system worked, up to a point. VUSD negotiated a good deal on the solar panels. The savings alone from solar offsetting power costs will dramatically and positively impact the general fund. Still, they got greedy by wanting to put the savings into the General Fund where they could do with it what they pleased. The Citizens’ Oversight Committee voted to draft a letter insisting the Board of Trustees return the savings to the bond for further, needed repairs and upgrades like security systems. However, the final letter was never delivered to the Board of Trustees as the Committee could not agree on language in the letter. Yet, the Board of Trustees failed the students and the community by not insisting that VUSD use the $14 million for further maintenance. 

Diverting cost savings to the General Fund violates the district’s fiduciary responsibility and violated public trust, but these are not the only troubling violations. Ventura Unified violated California Education Code 15282(a) with its handling of the Citizens’ Oversight Committee. The code mandates that members of a citizens’ oversight committee must serve a minimum, initial term of two years and can serve up to three consecutive terms. Shortly after the formation of the committee, VUSD requested to stagger membership terms, so several members voluntarily shortened their first term to one year. However, at the end of the year, Ventura Unified told these members that the district was removing them, and they must reapply for their positions. At a July 2024 school board meeting, the district appointed five of the six applicants to the Oversight Committee and chose not to reappoint one of the sitting members who reapplied despite their commitment and dedication to their role over the past 12 months. When the displaced committee member questioned why the district changed the terms, VUSD staff stated that the district’s legal counsel approved the alteration but provided no documentation or further explanation. In essence, VUSD was able to remove Oversight Committee members who supported returning the $14 million back to the Bond. 

VUSD Asks for More Money When They Can’t Handle The Money They Have

Ventura Unified asks taxpayers to renew a parcel tax in the upcoming election (Measure H) “to provide funding to maintain academic programs and retain highly qualified teachers throughout the Ventura Unified School District”. Yet, until the district can demonstrate transparency and accountability, Ventura voters would be unwise to approve the renewal. 

The Ventura County Taxpayers Association calls on VUSD to take immediate steps to restore public confidence:

1. Commit to Full Transparency: Promptly publish all Ad Hoc Committee recommendations, decisions, and the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee’s communications. Committee members completed the 2022-2023 report. We urge that VUSD commit to a timely publication of the full 2023-2024 pdf report.
2. Adhere to State Law: Reinstate the removed committee members, both the one who reapplied and those who did not reapply, to fulfill their rightful, intial two-year terms as required by California Education Code 15282(a).
3. Refocus Measure E Spending: Reprioritize Measure E projects to ensure that the most pressing student needs—such as air conditioning, play structures, and safety measures—are addressed before investing in large, non-local contracts that do not directly benefit our students’ learning environments.
4. Commit any potential rebate funds from the solar panel installation back to the Measure E bond. 

We all share the common goal of seeing our schools and our children thrive. However, this cannot come at the expense of trust and good governance. Ventura Unified must honor its promises to the taxpayers and put the needs of the students first.

VCTA encourages Ventura Voters to Vote NO on Measure H to extend the parcel tax in Ventura. Ventura Unified School District shouldn’t be entrusted with more taxpayer money based on the violations of Measure E. 

NOTE: VCTA’s Executive Director has served as the Vice Chair of the Measure E Bond Oversight Committee for the past 14 months. This article is a publication of VCTA and does not represent the views or opinions of the VUSD Measure E Bond Oversight Committee.