Biden inflation has made buying food, gas and other necessities too expensive for most families. In the last couple of weeks homeowners have received their property tax bills. Read it carefully. From 1/3 to one half of the bill is NOT for property taxes, but paying off bonds voters had previously approved. In fact, voters have voted themselves OUT of their home. On November 5, just in LA County there are over $15 billion in bonds on the ballot. That means $15 billion for schools and $15 billion for Wall Street. The goal of the bonds is not to fix schools, but to make Wall Street rich. Oh, and to make your home unaffordable.
“The set-up is also a challenge for staff like Alejandra Ceja, who wakes up at 4 a.m to prepare food at the district’s central kitchen about 20 minutes away.
The food is trucked over to the school and stored in warmers clustered in front of the former theater’s stage.
Ceja says with a full kitchen, her day would be less hectic and the student’s food fresher.
“We need an area where the kids, they can eat, so we could improve the service,” Ceja said.
Throughout the state, 38% of K-12 students go to schools that do not meet the minimum standard to be considered clean, safe, and functional, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California.”
If not safe, do what they do to unsafe homes and buildings—close them down. Otherwise these statements are fraud, making people believe the classrooms are dangerous. If unsafe, have they informed the parents? Would you send your child to an unsafe school?
Note in this article not a mention of the failed curriculum. Not a mention of the sexual grooming, bigotry, hate, DEI and union monopolies running the schools. Fix the curriculum, end the hate, make education a priority—then, maybe a bond should be used. Otherwise these bonds are scams for the donors, friends of the Board members and staff—easy to corrupt.
Property taxes are high. Will California voters pay more for school repairs?
By Mariana Dale, LA1st, 10/24/24 https://laist.com/news/education/lynwood-unified-school-repairs-measure-u-election-2024
A measure of success?
This election, California school districts are counting on voters to pass dozens of local and state measures to fund badly needed repairs.
Property taxes are high. Will voters pay more for school repairs?
In L.A. County, 26 districts are seeking $15 billion through school facilities ballot measures.
Lynwood Unified School District is one of them. The Southeast L.A. district serves more than 11,000 students across 18 schools, and it faces challenges common to other districts in the region: a high number of students from low-income, underserved families, and declining enrollment that results in fewer dollars from the state.
Earlier this summer, LAist visited Lynwood schools to better understand the context for this fall’s many school bonds.
The district’s Measure U asks voters to approve a property tax increase to fund $80 million in renovation and repair projects.
LUSD wants money to fix deteriorating roofs, plumbing, and electrical systems; improve safety and security systems; and repair, construct, and acquire classrooms and labs, among other things.
School bonds 101
- Bonds function basically like loans. School district’s issue bonds to fund facility maintenance and construction and the principal and interest are paid back through property tax increases.
Century-old buildings
At Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, the first stop is the school’s cafeteria and a makeshift kitchen inside a former theater built in the 1930s. Tables inside the cafeteria are bolted down because the floors are slanted; students have to eat facing forward.
“It’s one of the original buildings in the city of Lynwood,” said Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Gretchen Janson. “Which is great, but it also does not necessarily meet the needs of students in 2024.”
“It’s not a welcoming, warm environment for our students,” Janson added.
The set-up is also a challenge for staff like Alejandra Ceja, who wakes up at 4 a.m to prepare food at the district’s central kitchen about 20 minutes away.
The food is trucked over to the school and stored in warmers clustered in front of the former theater’s stage.
Ceja says with a full kitchen, her day would be less hectic and the student’s food fresher.
“We need an area where the kids, they can eat, so we could improve the service,” Ceja said.
Throughout the state, 38% of K-12 students go to schools that do not meet the minimum standard to be considered clean, safe, and functional, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California.
Part of the reason Wilson has gone this long without a proper cafeteria is that California does not provide ongoing funding for school upkeep and construction.
Districts rely on voter-approved statewide and local bonds to pay for repairs, renovations, and new buildings. This year, Lynwood voters will decide on one of each: the district’s Measure U and the statewide Proposition 2. (We’ve got a voter guide for that one, too.)
The roles of taxes and equity
A handful of residents signed a statement opposing Lynwood’s bond measure. They argue taxpayers are already overburdened and already paying off bond measures passed in 2012 and 2016.
Districts that pass bonds must commission independent, annual audits of taxpayer-funded projects and create an oversight committee that includes community members.
Research shows the current facilities funding system directs more money to larger, more affluent school districts, in part because they have higher property values.
Districts in poorer communities can raise fewer dollars — even if they serve more students — and are more reliant on limited state funding.
“Lower income and smaller school communities will always be playing catch-up,” said Lynwood Superintendent Gudiel Crosthwaite.
One of the most persistent problems are the district’s roofs. The district said there were more than 140 roof leaks last year.
How would Measure U impact property taxes?
- The district estimates the bond would cost property owners that live within the school district’s boundaries an average of $50 per $100,000 of assessed value each year.
- Read more about the arguments for and against the measure in LAist’s Measure U voter guide.
“Unfortunately, we find ourselves being reactive because we haven’t had the funds to be able to put on fully new roofs,” Janson said.
Sometimes classes must be temporarily relocated while repairs are made.
“Students lose learning minutes when they have to pack up all their things, move elsewhere,” Janson said. “Teachers can’t be as effective at being instructors when they don’t have all their materials with them.”
The next Lynwood school LAist visits is Hosler Middle, home of the Lions.
Gabriela Camacho, the assistant principal at Hosler Middle School and an alumna. “It looks very similar to the way it did when I was growing up,” Camacho said — including the girls locker room.
Assistant Principal Gabriela Camacho is a school alum — and a Lynwood City Councilmember.
Camacho said that in addition to being safe, the goal is to create a campus the community is proud of.
“They want to see the schools looking good, looking nice, fixing things that need to be fixed,” Camacho said. “Making it look like somewhere you want to take your kids and for them to enjoy being there.”
