The Portola Valley School District will meet Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 3) to explore how it would implement fixes to its aging and leaky buildings if a major bond measure passes, district Superintendent Eric Hartwig said.
To repair and replace the buildings, the district has proposed a $49.5 million bond ballot measure - Measure Z - for the November ballot.
Essential to the process is explaining how the funds will be used "carefully and efficiently" on the district’s buildings on both campuses, Ormondale and Corte Madera, Hartwig said. There are 574 students enrolled in the district this school year (as of Sept. 6).
Eric Holm, director of bond projects for the neighboring Las Lomitas School District, will explain how school buildings are customarily built at the Wednesday school board meeting, which begins at 2:15 p.m., Hartwig said. Holm will also discuss how to identify architects and construction firms, Hartwig said.
The school facilities' poor condition was apparent to Hartwig when he took his post three years ago. Some classrooms are more than 50 years old and haven't held up well, he said. Last year, the district closed some classrooms because of mold and leaks, he said.
There have been other building issues. For example, there was no heat in some classrooms for seven months, said Anne Fazioli-Khiari, chairman of the Yes on Z campaign.
"Basic things like no heat make it hard for kids to concentrate," said Fazioli-Khiari, whose two daughters are first- and third-graders at Ormondale School, a transitional kindergarten through third grade school.
School buildings need to be repaired or replaced not only for safety reasons, but because they're not compatible with newer technologies, Hartwig said.
"When you look around different schools in the area, they're a lot more modern," he said. "Particularly classrooms focused on technology and robotics. Silicon Valley is the center of the universe for those things."
Schools on the Peninsula should be able to help inspire students to pursue engineering and robotics, he added.
Almost 61.8 percent of likely voters polled would probably or definitely support the measure without detailed information on the measure, according to a June poll from Godbe Research, a San Mateo-based research firm that measures public opinion. Once surveyers provided more details on why the measure is necessary, 66.7 percent said they'd probably or definitely support the measure. This is up from 54.8 percent who supported the measure in a 2017 survey. Godbe polled 250 out of 3,523 likely November 2018 voters in this latest survey.
High-priority projects at Corte Madera School (4-8)include a new two-story classroom building, which would cost between $38.4 and $42.5 million, according to a facilities master plan. There are $10.9 million to $12 million projects included as immediate priorities at Ormondale School.
The measure would add a maximum of $300 per $1 million of assessed valuation to property tax bills. The measure needs approval by 55 percent of voters in the district to pass.
The Portola Valley School District Governing Board meeting is in room 102 at Corte Madera School, 4575 Alpine Road in Portola Valley.
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Comments
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 3, 2018 at 8:58 am
on Oct 3, 2018 at 8:58 am
No, no, no!
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 3, 2018 at 3:41 pm
on Oct 3, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Declining enrollment. Increasing gross revenue as older homeowners move out and sell at higher valuations. The last bond measure still not paid off and now considered poorly spent/constructed. This bond measure raises $86,000 per current student or if amortized over 15 years $5750 per student per year on top of a generous tax payment from our existing property taxes. I can find no reason to vote yes.
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 3, 2018 at 6:18 pm
on Oct 3, 2018 at 6:18 pm
Measure Z is sorely needed. Our schools don’t meet today’s standards. Some updates have been made over the years, but they were never intended to fully update every building. This is overwhelmingly supported by the Almanac, the Portola Valley PTO, the Portola Valley Schools Foundation, business leaders, seniors and our community.
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 3, 2018 at 8:30 pm
on Oct 3, 2018 at 8:30 pm
Not sure why we need to vote if the Almanac, PTO, school foundation, business leaders and seniors all agree we need Measure Z. They should pay for it not the taxpayers.
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 4, 2018 at 9:42 pm
on Oct 4, 2018 at 9:42 pm
Sarah, speak for yourself. I am both a Senior and a Community member. The business leaders I know do NOT support this, because they are also taxpayers in this community, and they, as business people, don't want to pay for something that has yet to be defined. Of course the PTO and the school foundation support this---that's not a convincing argument.
Since nobody will answer any questions about why so much money is needed (they won't give us numbers on how it would be allocated, and they won't tell us anything about how they plan to choose a contractor), it's very scary to consider that this could be passed, and we have no idea how the money will be spent. That is a LOT of money! Why can't there be some middle ground between the ideal of building the most high-end, walls of glass and retractable doors with gold plated doorknobs, and living with black mold? How do they plan to interview contractors? I don't think they do. I think they have one contractor in mind.
It's very easy to come up with enormous numbers when it's not your own money you're spending.
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 16, 2018 at 2:31 pm
on Oct 16, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Measure Z is actually supported by many throughout Portola Valley and Woodside - including local business owners who live here in our community, longtime residents without kids in schools, realtors who understand the value of an outstanding school district, and parents. If we want to continue to have high quality schools in our community, for the kids and to keep our property values up, we need to pass Measure Z!
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Oct 23, 2018 at 10:41 am
on Oct 23, 2018 at 10:41 am
This morning (10/23) I received an email, "Community Connect: PVSD Fall 2018 Update. In discussing the facilities the Superintendent said this:
"Later in this newsletter you will see an update on this effort, including the formation of a citizens' committee to pass Measure Z, which would finance much-needed improvements to our two school sites. If the bond measure passes, we will ramp up our work to take us beyond just studying and planning and into the realm of hiring, designing, and building. "
In other words, there has not been a lot of due diligence of scoping out costs. This is a big ask for $$ with a “trust us, we’ll figure it out later”. When you add up the total cost of this adventure it is just under $100M in debt for a district with fewer then 450 students, a declining enrollment and a previous bond measure to still pay off.
The stunningly beautiful Woodside H.S. Science building which opened last year cost $18M to build. The district’s numbers are half baked and out of line.
Until the board shows the district a reasonable plan with costs and all the details my answer is NO, NO, NO on Z.
Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley
on Nov 1, 2018 at 9:42 pm
on Nov 1, 2018 at 9:42 pm
In the 28 years I've lived in Portola Valley, I've never seen the kind of marketing that I've been seeing for the last 6 months for Measure Z. Every week there's a new mailer. Also I've been getting so many phone calls. There was also at least one flier from one realtor (not multiple) and it seemed very strange to me that her flier was so pushy.
The signs that have been put up (including one on my lawn that I did not authorize) don't represent what many people I know have been talking about at barbecues all summer. None of us feel good about this---we feel worried. Who is going to pay for this? It will take years and years. 100 million dollars! Doesn't anyone understand how much money that is? It feels to me like there should be an independent auditor involved in this process, if it does pass. Are we really going to allow 8 people or so to control that much money?