The Woodside Elementary School District may ask voters to approve a $36 million facilities bond measure to fund repairs to the school campus, including millions of dollars worth of damage from creek erosion at the back of the campus caused by last winters rains, including a big storm on New Years Eve.
The school board reviewed a draft of the measure on Nov. 6. The board plans to vote on putting the measure before voters at its Nov. 28 meeting. If approved, it would appear on the ballot of the statewide primary election on March 5, 2024.
Aside from $3 million to stabilize the hillside behind the campus, located at 3195 Woodside Road in Woodside, the proposed bond would fund about $26 million in renovations, including repairing or replacing leaking roofs, replacing outdated HVAC systems, and replacing and modernizing transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms (a $13.4 million project).
Superintendent Steve Frank noted that the projects are expensive because the school building code is stricter than for other types of construction.
Over the last year, district consultant CliffordMoss sent out mailers, drafted a facilities master plan to share with the community and conducted master plan stakeholder meetings. Some 106 people responded to surveys about district facilities.
The Woodside district held a Nov. 8 community meeting to answer questions about a potential bond measure. It last went out for a bond measure in 2014. Measure D passed and brought in $13.5 million.
Damage to hillside
Work the district completed a decade ago, when "stitch piers" were drilled into the ground next to creek banks to prevent further erosion, has been so compromised that the district had to install fencing in March for student safety, Frank said.
"Water was just raging so high," Frank said. "It took out so many trees and washed away a section of hillside. ... The ground is really unsafe."
The district's FEMA grant funding for the project has been approved, but the district doesn't know how much it will be for yet.
"My understanding is that once the project is developed and the total cost is known, the FEMA grant will be a 'percentage' of that total cost," Frank said in an email Tuesday, Nov. 14. "We are not yet aware of what the percentage is but hope to get a better understanding as the scope of the project is developed in the upcoming months."
Special meeting on bond measure
The school board will make a decision on the potential bond measure during a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28, in the Wildcats room at Woodside Elementary School, 3195 Woodside Road.
Watch a video of the Nov. 6 board meeting here.
Comments
Registered user
Portola Valley: Westridge
on Nov 17, 2023 at 8:59 am
Registered user
on Nov 17, 2023 at 8:59 am
Absurd. There is no accountability. Think about the incredible revenue windfall over the last 20 years because of higher property tax due to Prop 13 attrition (property turnover).
And piers failing after only a decade is unacceptable. Again, no accountability. Sadly, education is like the defense budget where spending has little to do with actual performance. BTW, this is what we get for our money:
Web Link
SCORECARD for Woodside High: 83.82
Took at Least One AP Exam: 48%
Passed at Least One AP Exam: 42%
** Mathematics Proficiency: 40%
** Reading Proficiency: 64%
** Science Proficiency: 31%
Graduation Rate: 92% <-- How is this reconciled with the highlighted criteria
Registered user
Woodside School
on Nov 17, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Registered user
on Nov 17, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Please note this is for Woodside Elementary School (WES), not for Woodside High (which the other comment references). Major improvements on school campuses are typically paid for by larger capital investments, not the property taxes the other comment mentions as well.
As a parent of two children at Woodside Elementary, I have seen firsthand the significant damage caused by last winter's storms. Like so many roads and other infrastructure in the state, we need to fix the situation after those storms. Further, the increase in things like wildfires and poor air quality, which are also caused by natural forces outside the school's control, has meant that the school can do less in terms of natural ventilation and needs more HVAC capabilities.
With regard to the other requests, the state requires the school to expand its TK access, but with no funds to update classrooms to meet these requirements.
WES has not requested funds for a decade and these are capital investment funds that are above and beyond the maintenance of the school. The school community already raises substantial funds to support the maintenance of the school -- but it cannot raise enough to address these significant infrastructure issues.
Registered user
Atherton: West of Alameda
on Nov 17, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Registered user
on Nov 17, 2023 at 1:27 pm
Just because the funds are applied to buildings and land does not make them capital expenditures. The article describes them as “repairs” so unless the assets have exceeded their expected life time they should be treated as, and should have been PLANNED FOR as maintenance.