Charter School's Funding Under Fire - Marin IJ - Novermber 28, 2004 - By Jennifer Gollan, IJ Reporter

Article Last Updated: Sunday, November 28, 2004 - 4:28:50 AM PST

Charter school's funding under fire

By Jennifer Gollan, IJ reporter

Novato board chief wants part of money withheld
Challenging state law, the president of the Novato Unified School District Board of Trustees wants to withhold a portion of funding for a local charter school to reduce the district's $3.7 million budget deficit through 2006.

Board President Cindi Clinton said she will propose a measure at a trustee meeting tomorrow that seeks to keep about $180,000 in district funding designated for the year-old Marin School of Arts and Technology in the 2005-2006 school year.

"My concern is that (the Marin School of Arts and Technology) is taking away much-needed funds from every other student that attends school in our district," Clinton said. "I am willing to go to jail over this, that's how strong I feel about it."

State law requires that charter high schools throughout the state receive an equal amount of money per student. In Novato, the amount required is more than the per-pupil expenditure for Novato students attending the district's traditional schools, a situation viewed as unfair, among other things, by Clinton.

Last year, the per-pupil expenditure for regular high school students in Novato was $4,787, while the expenditure required by the state for charter high schools, including the Marin School of Arts and Technology, was $5,494 per student, according to the most recent figures available from the state Department of Education.

Daniel McLaughlin, chief executive officer of Envision Schools, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that oversees Novato's lone charter high school and City Arts and Technology High School in San Francisco, declined to comment on Novato's forthcoming proposal. He said the money the district gives to the school represents a small portion of the budget deficit.

The dispute goes to the heart of the debate over charter schools - taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from most rules governing traditional public schools. Charter schools offer parents an opportunity to take the education of their children into their own hands, allowing them to pick up where they feel school districts fall short.

The Bush administration's No Child Left Behind law, which seeks to boost academic achievement of all students, gives schools that fail to meet the required goals for improvement the option of becoming charter schools.

With charter school enrollment increasing by an estimated 15 percent annually, some critics blame the schools for luring students away from traditional schools in their districts. Critics of charter schools say this affects districts' bottom lines, as most of California's more than 1,000 school districts receive a combination of state taxes and local property taxes based on average daily attendance.

Money for students at regular schools is spent largely at the discretion of district governing boards and their top administrators. Money for charter schools, however, is untouchable by school districts, meaning its expenditures are under the purview of charter school parents and administrators.

Revenue limits

Novato is one of at least several unified school districts statewide - those that include students in kindergarten through 12th grade - that receives less revenue limit funding than that required for charter high schools. The revenue limit is the general purpose money a district receives from the state based on its average daily attendance. Statewide, charter high schools receive equivalent funding based on the averages of revenue limit funding statewide and daily attendance.

When the Marin School of Arts and Technology began last year with 80 ninth-graders, Novato officials said the district kicked in about $90,000 from its general fund to cover the difference between the funding levels, as well as other costs.

The financial burden on the district is expected to grow as the school adds one grade each year, ending with the 12th grade in fall 2006. The district's payment of $119,000 to the school this year could jump to an estimated $240,000 in 2006, said Connie Benz, Novato's coordinator of communications and student data systems.

In California, at least several unified school districts are required to make up the difference between their revenue limit and the level of funding set for charter high schools statewide. In each case, the districts are responsible for those students living within their boundaries. They include, according to the Department of Education, the San Francisco Unified School District, which distributed $612,000 for its charter schools last year; Vacaville Unified School District, which paid $150,000, and the Vista Unified School District in San Diego County, which doled out $350,000.

Questions

Victoria Li, deputy general counsel assigned to charter schools in the San Francisco Unified School District, questioned the reasoning behind the state law requiring some districts to make up the disparity between their revenue limits and that of charter schools. About 1,600 of the 68,000 students in the San Francisco district attend charter schools.

"I think it's unfortunate, because it does impact us to a certain extent," she said. "Sometimes you want to ask the people who drafted the legislation 'What were you thinking?'"

In the meantime, districts might have few means of sidestepping their financial responsibilities to charter schools, said Cindy Chan, education fiscal administrator at the state Department of Education.

"In order for any deviance from the law, there has to be a change to the law," she said.

In January, Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, proposed a bill that would have required the state to fund the disparity between the revenue limit of each unified district and that of charter schools. The bill was never heard but the California Charter Schools Association said it will lobby to have the measure reintroduced this year.

Statewide, the disparity issue seems to have spared those school districts that are basic-aid, meaning they rely primarily on local property taxes.

For example, in the Sausalito Marin City School District, local taxes allow the district to comfortably cover its costs, including those of Willow Creek Academy, an elementary charter school, said George Stratigos, president of the Sausalito Marin City District Board of Trustees.

State laws

Aside from the per-student cost, state law requires the Novato Unified School District provide a space for the charter school. The district covers the charter school's rent - $150,000 annually - for its facility at College of Marin's Indian Valley campus. The money comes out of the district's $107 million facilities bond revenue, approved by voters in 2001.

"It is devastatingly unfair because we can't even make our multiyear projections and serve the kids in our own district," Novato Superintendent Jan La Torre-Derby said.

But McLaughlin, the CEO of Envision Schools, said: "The great majority of students at MSAT (Marin School of Arts and Technology) are from the Novato Unified School District. We serve Novato Unified School District kids."

A confluence of factors have led to the district's $3.7 million budget shortfall through fiscal year 2006, Benz said. They include declining enrollment in the district's traditional schools, which dropped by 240 students to 7,637 since 2001, the failure earlier this month of the district's parcel tax proposal, as well as increased costs of employee benefits and workers compensation. The district has a $51 million budget this year.

Financial need aside, the district's consideration of a measure to revoke part of the charter's funding would be "the logical thing to do," said Mary Bergan, president of the California Federation of Teachers, which represents 70,000 school personnel statewide.

"We are probably going to see more of this simply because it's just more and more difficult for people to pay their bills and it becomes particularly difficult when people have other costs," she said.

But Gary Larson, vice president of communications at the California Charter Schools Association, a Los Angeles-based advocacy organization which represents more than 500 public charter schools statewide, said the charter school was entitled to the funding level set by the state.

"Sometimes it can be difficult for some school districts to recognize that taxpayer dollars are meant to fund students' educations over the district bureaucracy," he said.

Contact Jennifer Gollan via e-mail at jgollan@marinij.com

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SAUSALITO MARIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT THANKS SUPPORTERS ON 15.9 MILLION BOND MEASURE.- Press Release SMCSD - November 3, 2004

SMCSD Letterhead:

Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Contact: Kathy Blazei: 415-332-3190

For Immediate Release: SAUSALITO MARIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT THANKS SUPPORTERS ON 15.9 MILLION BOND MEASURE.

The Sausalito Marin City School District (SMCSD) Board of Trustees and I are thrilled that District voters approved Measure I. Not only does this vote authorize construction bonds that will greatly enhance facilities that desperately need improvement but we also believe the voters’ approval of Measure I is a 73% vote of confidence for the SMCSD and the positive changes the District has made during the past five years.

Two years ago one of the District’s schools was recognized as one of the two most improved schools in all of California. The bond measure will help the District continue this forward momentum as the District continues to work toward ensuring that our students are just as well-prepared for high school as the students of other Marin County
School Districts.

The District’s next step will be to inform the community of the application process for those interested in serving on the Citizens’ Oversight Committee. Committee members’ responsibilities will include monitoring project progress and conducting annual, independent financial and performance audits of the bond projects. The District will also conduct community meetings to welcome citizens’ participation.

On behalf of the Board and the children, I thank every voter who supports our vision of excellent facilities for public instruction.

SAUSALITO MARIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT CELEBRATES VOTER APPROVAL OF $15.9 MILLION BOND MEASURE. - Press Release SMCSD- November 4, 2004

SMCSD Letterhead:

Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Contact: Kathy Blazei: 415-332-3190

For Immediate Release: SAUSALITO MARIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT CELEBRATES VOTER APPROVAL OF $15.9 MILLION BOND MEASURE.


“This is definitely a vote of confidence,” George Stratigos, President of the Sausalito Marin City School District’s Board of Trustees said late Tuesday night, when it was clear that Measure I, a $15.9 million bond providing for the construction of a new middle school and improvements to all the district’s facilities, had been overwhelmingly approved by 73% of the district’s voters.

“The last five years has brought many positive changes,” district superintendent Rose Marie Roberson said. “The support of the voters for this measure is an important endorsement of those changes, and of the direction in which we are moving.” This approval confirms that the higher the expectation, the greater the achievement.

The community recalled the entire board in 1998. “That recall put us on a different path,” said Stratigos, “Today our test scores have doubled, the district has a charter school, and it has also organized a middle school that is situated on its own campus.”

The bond measure will fund reconstruction of the aging North Bay school facility that now houses the district’s seventh and eighth grades. “Now we have the funds to build the middle school that this community needs and deserves,” a pleased Roberson reports. “In addition; our kindergarten classes will have a new facility after being housed in portable structures for the past forty years. We will also modernize and bring our district into state compliance.”

“It’s been a long journey for change but one worth taking,” Stratigos adds. “Our children will have the opportunity to learn in quality facilities with the rest of their peers in Marin County. It does take a village. I’m so proud that Sausalito Marin City shares a vision of excellence in education for all.”

###

Ballot Statement in favor of measure I - "Yes I Can" By George Stratigos & Shirley Thornton

“ yes I can ”

George Stratigos Dr. Shirley Thornton

Five years ago, recognizing the loss that we suffered when our children were not properly educated within our own community; our district embarked on a journey to revitalize our public schools.

Test scores during this five-year period have climbed from the 300s to nearly 700. Clearly tremendous progress has been made. In fact, last year, Bayside Elementary was recognized as one of two “most improved schools in California.”

Today, our goal is scores of 900. We call it “Vision 900,” a program that will take our schools from better to best.

To achieve excellence, however, we need to improve our schools’ facilities.

Did you know that our grades K-2 have been housed in portable buildings that have been used since 1968?

Did you know that our middle school is a converted elementary school that does not include many state-mandated elements, such as science labs, performance space and athletic facilities found in every other middle school in Marin County?

Did you know that the Sausalito Marin City School District is the only district in the county not to have benefited from a bond measure in the modern era?

Did you know that our district has not placed a school bond measure on the ballot since 1930?

Despite raising nearly $500,000 to paint, and replace siding and heating units, the job of rehabilitating aging and inadequate facilities still needs to be done. After careful consideration, our school board has voted unanimously to place Measure I on the ballot to secure the necessary funding to replace portables, build a new middle school and update existing facilities.
We can, and we must, have public schools in our community that reflect our values. Our children deserve nothing less. Join us in support of Measure I.
Together we will make our schools the best in Marin.


Vote November 2nd Thanks.
Prepared by the community volunteers at the “yes I can” committee P.O. Box 679 Sausalito, CA 94965 Tel 415-332-4197

Sausalito Marin City School District Measure “l” FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - District Mailer

Sausalito Marin City School District Measure “l”

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS


On July 29, 2004 the Sausalito Marin City Board of Education approved a resolution to place a $15.9 million bond measure on the November 2, 2004 ballot.

If approved by Sausalito and Marin City voters, the bond will finance new construction, modernization, and renovation projects at all three of the District’s schools – Bayside Elementary School, Martin Luther King Jr. Academy Middle School and Willow Creek Academy, the District’s charter school.

The following are frequently asked questions and answers about the ballot measure:

1) Q. How was it determined that the Sausalito Marin City School District’s schools needed major renovation and replacement construction?

A. In 2003, an architectural firm was hired to help the Sausalito Marin City School District (SMCSD) develop a school facilities master plan. Standards were identified to guide the development of specific recommendations for each school campus, allowing them to comply with state requirements that will allow the District to apply for state funding to renovate and modernize the school facilities and assure their continued use for the next several decades.

2) Q. How much is the bond? How much will it increase my property taxes? How many years will I have to pay this tax? Could the District sell more than $15.9 million in bonds?

A. The District may only issue up to $15.9 million worth of bonds. A $15.9 million bond levy translates to a projected average rate of $30 per year per $100,000 of assessed property valuation.

Reminder: The assessed value of your home may be substantially less than the appraised or market value of your home. The longer you have owned your home the more likely the assessed value is lower than the appraised value. Your annual property tax bill shows the assessed value of your home.

Assessed value of a home increases for only three reasons (1) the property is sold, then it is reassessed at the market value, (2) an improvement is added, and the homes assessed value increases by the value of the improvement, (3) a year passes and the assessed value increases by the lesser of 2% or the change in the California Consumer Price Index. For example, since the average assessed value of homes in the SMCSD is approximately $460,000, the average homeowner would pay, on the average, an additional $138 per year in property taxes during the next 27 years.

To determine the projected average cost of the bond per year for a residential home, use the following formula:

(Assessed Value of Home) x (30.00)
100,000

For example: ($460,000 x $30.00) = $13,800,000 = $138.00
100,000 100,000

The following chart illustrates examples of the average annual tax rate (and monthly equivalent) based on a range of assessed values of homes:

Assessed Value of Home Projected Average Annual Tax Monthly Equivalent

$ 50,000 $15.00 $1.25
$150,000 $45.00 $3.75
$250,000 $75.00 $6.25
$350,000 $105.00 $8.75
$450,000 $135.00 $11.25
$600,000 $180.00 $15.00
$850,000 $255.00 $21.25
$1 million $300.00 $25.00
$2 million $600.00 $50.00

Contact Dr. Rose Marie Roberson, the District Superintendent, at 332.3190 if you have additional questions (fax: 331.7694 / email: rmroberson@marin.k12.ca.us).

3) Q. When will the taxes begin to be collected?

A. Taxes will be collected in the 2005-06 tax year. Since property taxes are collected twice a year – once in December and once in April – the first time taxes will be collected for this bond measure will be December 2005.

4) Q. Will senior citizens be exempt from paying this tax?

A. No. There is no option to exempt seniors with a general obligation bond. This is dictated by the state constitution. However, many senior citizens who own homes in the community are long-time residents whose property assessment will be relatively low.

Although there is no exemption for senior citizens, there is a state property tax assistance program that provides reimbursement for part of the property taxes on the homes of persons with a total household income of $13,200 or less, who are either age 62+, blind or disabled.

In addition, there is a state property tax postponement program for qualified persons who are age 62+, blind or disabled with a household income of $24,000 or less.

For more information about these programs, please visit the county’s treasurer/tax collector’s website at www.co.marin.ca.us.

5) Q. What are the improvements that will be made to the schools? Will there be sufficient funds to cover the costs of all the projects?

A. Bond Project List:

Bayside Elementary Campus

Replace existing kindergarten and first grade building at Bayside Elementary School campus on Nevada Street in Sausalito, designed to serve a capacity of up to 100 students, including:

• Multiple use space for student services support and special needs, including space for individual/small group activities and work/planning areas for volunteers and teachers
• Classrooms
• Space for students to participate in assemblies, student presentations and activities
• Restrooms for girls, boys and faculty
• Secured outdoor playground area
• Administrative offices
• Furniture and equipment
• Demolition and disposal of old building as applicable for new construction

Upgrade existing facilities at Bayside Elementary School and Willow Creek Academy on Nevada Street in Sausalito, to address educational needs, safety issues and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance (ADA):

• Community parking and drop-off zones, and improved school bus access
• Improvements to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and related state or local laws
• Improvements to meet requirements of fire, safety and building codes
• Telephone, Internet and advanced communications systems, including equipment and related infrastructure
• State-required or approved modernization as needed, including electrical, plumbing, interior and exterior lighting, heating, ventilation systems, windows, window coverings and energy saving devices, walls and wall coverings, floors and floor coverings, ceilings, and cabinets
• Resurface, repair, or replace existing outdoor playfields and play areas
• Replace and upgrade all restroom facilities



Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy Campus

Construct, furnish and equip a new middle school designed to serve a capacity of up to 180 students in grades six through eight at the site of the existing Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy campus on Drake Avenue in Marin City. The work may incorporate elements of the existing school buildings and necessary rehabilitation of such buildings to include the following features:

• Life science laboratory to enable students to carry out experiments and project-based learning
• Library and technology learning center
• Classrooms for instruction in core curriculum: English, social studies and math
• Choral, dance and instrumental music rooms and recording studios
• Enrichment Learning Center
• Speech, language and psychology support space
• Administrative offices, nurse’s office and school reception
• Parking and drop-off area
• Maintenance, operations, janitorial workspaces and storage, including space for emergency preparedness
• Multipurpose room to include equipment and space for physical fitness and nutrition instruction, showers and lockers, kitchen, cafeteria, and storage
• Auditorium to include equipment and space for student performances, school assemblies and instructional planning space, including fully equipped stage and dress areas
• Outdoor track and athletic field, hard court area and playground area
• Demolition and disposal of old buildings as applicable for new construction

Additional Work: Bayside and Martin Luther King Jr. Campuses
(as required in connection with new construction or major renovations)

• Relocation or removal of existing relocatable classrooms as necessary to allow for new construction
• Site work and landscaping
• Address unforeseen safety and structural conditions revealed by modernization work (e.g., dry rot, seismic or structural weakness, etc.)
• Rental or construction of temporary classrooms (including relocatable) as needed to house students displaced during construction
• Acquisition of any of the facilities on the Bond Project List through temporary lease or lease-purchase arrangements, or execution of purchase option under a lease for any of these authorized facilities
• Furnishing and equipping to replace worn/broken/out-of-date furniture and equipment
• Provide new school furniture and equipment, including computer and science equipment



6) Q. What is the estimated cost of the different components of the project:

A. Based on a cost analysis of standards, state requirements, identified needs recommendations and compliance and access requirements, the estimated cost is as follows:

 Elementary School Sites New Construction and Improvements
$8.5 million

 Middle School Improvements
$7.4 million

7) Q. Why weren’t the buildings kept in better shape? Isn’t this the responsibility of the school District?

A All of the schools have been maintained, but ongoing maintenance such as repairs made to roofs, walls, floors and ceilings does not address the major infrastructure needs of these aging schools. As a general rule, schools need major repairs and modernization every 30 to 40 years. Some of the District school facilities are 40 to 50 years old and no bond issues or other funding for major upgrades or modernization have ever been approved for these schools. The school facilities have antiquated and inadequate heating, lighting and plumbing systems. Repair of extensive dry rot is needed and all school must be brought up to current ADA codes. In addition, the District’s classrooms are no longer adequate to support the demands of today’s instructional programs.

8) Q. When was the last bond levy for the schools? How much was it and what projects did it pay for?

A. The SMCSC has not held a bond election since 1930. The SMCSD is one of only three school districts in Marin County that have not passed bond measures in recent years. The proposed bond measure for SMCSD is an important opportunity to complete the modernization of our community’s schools.

The following school districts have all passed one or more bond measures in recent years to modernize and repair their schools:

Bolinas-Stinson, Dixie, Kentfield, Lagunitas, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Nicasio, Novato, Reed and Ross Valley, Shoreline, San Rafael High and Tamalpais.

9) Q. Can the District’s general revenue funds be used to pay for this project? Would that be cheaper than paying interest on a bond?

A. Three percent of the District’s general revenue funds are used for ongoing maintenance such as repairs to roofs, walls, floors and ceilings, and will not support a project of this magnitude.

10) Q. How much is the state contributing to this project?

A The SMCSD is extremely proactive in securing federal and state grants for eligible construction projects when possible. Obtaining further state matching funds for eligible school modernization projects require local matching funds. The District is eligible for approximately $1.5 million from the state once the bond is passed.

11) Q. Will utility conservation measures be included in the bond planning? How much money could be saved in utility costs if modernization was completed?

A. No, utility conservation measures for existing buildings are being undertaken as part of the District’s internal efforts to establish energy conservation savings as well as cost effectiveness. Savings of an estimated $403,000, over a twelve-year period, will fund the upgrading of equipment.

12) Q. Doesn’t the school get money from the state or federal government to pay for the upkeep of the school buildings?

A. The SMCSD is a “Basic Aid” District, with most annual funding based on the District’s share of local property tax revenue. The District expects to receive approximately $8,000 from the state for deferred maintenance in the 2004-05 school year. This money is used for repairs such as re-roofing, painting, floor coverings and paving. The federal government does not provide funds for maintenance or modernization of the District’s facilities.

13) Q. Does the California Lottery money pay for facility improvements?

A. Lottery money is restricted to funding day-to-day operations and contributes less than one percent of the District’s annual budget. These funds are used to purchase instructional materials.

14) Q. After the project is completed, will the schools meet American with Disabilities (ADA) standards?

A Yes, all school facilities and grounds that fall within the path of travel will be ADA compliant.

15) Q. Do the school buildings contain asbestos?

A. It is unknown at this time if the facilities contain asbestos. This will be determined in the initial construction phase of the project. If asbestos is found in any facility, it will be abated and removed in the appropriate ways to conform to all legal and safety requirements.

16) Q. Are all of the recommended projects really necessary? Could money be saved by only attending to the most pressing problems?

A. All of the recommended projects must be addressed in order to provide an effective learning and working environment. The District is committed to establishing District-wide safety and accessibility standards and complying with current state and local building codes.

The development of the Facilities Master Plan included a cost analysis that determined that with a project of this magnitude, it is much more cost effective and efficient to do the work all at once rather than piecemeal.

17) Q. Why will it be necessary rebuild the building that houses the kindergarten through first grade classrooms? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to simply renovate?

A. The modular K-1 portable building was built close to 40 years ago, has inadequate heating and ventilation systems, and is in need of a new roof, siding, foundation and other major infrastructure repairs. During the development of the Facilities Master Plan, a cost analysis was performed that proved it to be more economically feasible to build a new K-1 facility than to renovate the existing structure.

18) Q. Would it be cheaper to close the Marin Luther King Jr. campus and move the middle school students to the Bayside campus?

A. The Bayside campus already houses two elementary schools – Bayside Elementary and Willow Creek Academy – with every classroom filled to capacity. There is not enough space at this campus to house middle school students.

19) Q. How long will take for the work to get started?

A. It is projected that it will take one year to complete the planning, architectural design and site review and to acquire the necessary approvals. Assuming a November 2004 election, actual construction is projected to begin in 2006 and be completed in 2007. A detailed and more precise timeline will be completed during the planning phase.

20) Q. Will the new construction and modernization projects be disruptive to the student’s education?

A. The architects will work closely with the District to coordinate the most disruptive construction projects with semester, holiday and summer breaks. Temporary modular buildings will be used as needed during the construction phase of the project. These arrangements and procedures will allow all facilities to be modernized within a relatively short time span and minimize the impact on the instructional program for students and staff.

Careful consideration was given to the project timeline so that students would not have to be in temporary housing for more than one school year at a school that is being modernized or rebuilt. There will be an education process at each school facility so that staff, parents, students and other community members will be kept apprised of the project’s progress.

21) Q. How were the facilities standards determined?

A. The facility standards adhere to the standards set by the California Department of Education, the California Office of Construction and the division of the State Architect, as well as all federal standards and regulations.

22) Q. How can I be sure the money will be spent on the recommended projects? Who will oversee the work to assure that budget and timelines are met?

A. State statute requires that all bond proceeds must be spent on capital facilities and that a Citizens’ Oversight Committee be appointed to conduct annual, independent financial and performance audits until all bond funds have been spent to ensure that the bond funds have been used only for the projects listed in the measure.

During the next two months, the District will inform the community of the application process for those interested in serving on the Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

23) Q. What is the process for developing detailed plans for the modernization, renovation and new construction projects?

A. The District is working with an architectural firm that has developed preliminary plans after receiving input from the District, faculty and community members. Detailed plans will be developed after a series of community meetings with a broad cross section of the community. The District welcomes continued input from all community members.

The next scheduled times for community review and input on the preliminary plans, and/or to tour the schools, are listed below. Please note the first three dates scheduled are on the same evenings as the District’s Back-to-School nights:


 Tuesday, September 14 @ 6:00 p.m.
Bayside Elementary School – multi-purpose room
Bayside Campus
630 Nevada Street, Sausalito

 Thursday, September 16 @ 6:00 p.m.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy – multi-purpose room,
610 Drake Avenue, Marin City

 Monday, September 27 @ 6:00 p.m.
Willow Creek Academy Charter School – multipurpose room
Bayside Campus
630 Nevada Street, Sausalito

 Thursday, September 30 @ 4:00 to 4:45 p.m.
Bayside/Willow Creek Academy Tour- meet in the multipurpose room
Bayside Campus
630 Nevada Street, Sausalito

 Thursday, September 30 @ 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Martin Luther King Jr. Academy Tour – meet in the multipurpose room
610 Drake Avenue, Marin City

 Thursday, September 30 @ 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Marin City Community Meeting
Martin Luther King Jr. Academy Tour –multipurpose room
610 Drake Avenue, Marin City

Wednesday, October 6 @ 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Sausalito Community Meeting
District Office, 630 Nevada Street, Sausalito

24) Q. How can I be assured there will be enough money to complete the work specified on the bond project list?

A. The total construction costs were based on detailed information gathered by architects and engineers and professional construction cost estimators. Each project is assumed to include its share of costs for the election and bond issuance, architectural work, engineering, inspection and similar planning costs, construction management, and a customary contingency for unforeseen design and construction costs. The final cost of each project will be determined as plans are finalized, construction bids are awarded and projects are completed.

In addition, certain construction funds expected from non-bond sources, including state grants for eligible projects, have not yet been secured. Therefore, the Board of Trustees cannot currently determine the amount of bond proceeds to be spent one each project, or guarantee that the bonds will provide sufficient funds to allow completion of all listed projects.

25) Q. If the project comes in under budget, what will happen to the leftover bond funds?

A. If the project comes in under budget and there are no additional projects on the allowable projects list that can be funded, the remaining bond proceeds will be used to make bond debt service payments.

26) Q. When the work is completed, will members of the local communities be able to use the facilities?

A Yes, the schools and their grounds are already in use by the community for recreational and educational purposes. These facilities will continue to be available to the public seven days a week.

27) Q. How will this bond impact people who don’t have children or whose children attend private schools?

A. Schools are a focal point of pride in communities throughout Marin County. As residents, we all will benefit from the civic pride in providing safe and modern schools for the education of our current and future students. In addition, as discussed above, school facilities and grounds are available for use by the entire community.

28) Q. Will I be able to review the Resolution passed by the Board of Trustees calling for the bond election?

A. Yes. You can pick up a copy at the District office at 630 Nevada Street in Sausalito or visit the District website at http://www.sausalitomarincityschooldistrict.org.

29) Q. What is the exact language of Measure I?

A. “To permit Sausalito Marin City School District to finance construction/modernization of Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy, Bayside/Willow Creek modernization, replacement of Bayside School’s kindergarten-first grade building; repair of inadequate electrical, heating, ventilation and plumbing; safety improvements, including upgrades to playgrounds and athletic fields; improvements to meet current building codes, improved accessibility, and technology upgrades; shall Sausalito Marin City School District issue $15,900,000 of bonds at interest rates within the legal limit, with a Citizens’ Oversight Committee to audit expenditures?”

30) Q. When is the election?

A. November 2, 2004.

31) Q. Who will pay the cost of the putting this measure on the November 2004 ballots?

A. The funds come out of the District’s restricted funds for facilities.

32) Q. What happens if the bond measure does not pass?

A. The District will need to bring the issue back to the voters. These schools’ facilities have inadequate lighting, heating, safety problems and dry rot has invaded many classrooms. Building deterioration will only increase in severity and magnitude unless addressed.

Additionally, the cost of construction will only increase the longer the projects are delayed. As you may be aware, the cost of oil, steel and other building materials have increased drastically during the last year.

33) Q. How do I get more information?

A. Please feel free to contact:
Dr. Rose Marie Roberson
Superintendent
Sausalito Marin City School District
630 Nevada Street, Sausalito, CA 94965
rmroberson@marin.k12.ca.us
332.3190

34) Q. If I can’t make one of the scheduled group tours, are there other times I can tour the District’s school facilities?
A. Yes, please call the District Office to make an appointment (332.3190).