Bond would give school construction a boost 

A $10.4 education facilities bond will be up for voter approval in November, along with three separate bonds to invest in transportation ($19.9 billion), affordable housing ($2.85 billion) and to strengthen levees ($4.09 billion).

The Legislature passed Assembly Bill 127 by Democrat Fabian Nuñez from Los Angeles in early May, placing an education facilities bond measure on the November ballot. $7.3 billion of the bond is earmarked for K-12 facilities, as follows:

• $1.9 billion for new school construction (with 10.5 percent available for hardship funding)
• $3.3 billion for modernization
• $1 billion for overcrowding relief grants (to replace temporary, portable housing with permanent facilities in districts with schools that are at 175 percent or more of the state’s recommended school site pupil density)
• $500 million for charter schools
• $500 million for career/technical facilities (funds can also be used for major equipment purchases)
• $29 million for joint use projects
• $100 for incentive grants to promote the use of “green” building design (designs that make maximum use of natural lighting, recycled materials and materials that minimize toxic emissions, as well as efficient use of energy and water)

Up to $200 million from the new school construction and modernization allocations can be used for small high schools.

AB 127 also increases the per-pupil grant allowances by 7 percent for elementary and middle schools and 4 percent for high schools. In addition, the bill requires the State Allocation Board to study the adequacy of the new grant amounts and authorizes the SAB to raise them another 6 percent if it deems necessary.

With respect to charter schools, AB 127 does two things. First, it modifies current law to reduce a district’s eligibility for new school construction funding for charter schools by only the number of students housed by the charter school. Second, it deletes the requirement that a district be eligible for new construction funds in order to build a charter school. The changes are intended to help to reduce the need for charter schools to claim district facilities under Proposition 39.

Earlier versions of the bond bill did not include provisions regarding the grant amounts and charter schools, and the California School Boards Association urged that they be included.

“CSBA is very pleased with the contents of AB 127, since it addresses our major concerns in a positive way,” said Rick Pratt, CSBA Assistant Executive Director for Governmental Relations.