Measure N asks voters for $321 million to rebuild Saratoga and Los Gatos high schools

Voters in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District will decide in November on Measure N, a proposed $321 million bond to repair and expand Saratoga High School and Los Gatos High School. Property owners would repay the bonds through higher taxes, and the money would go to construction, technology and safety projects.

The measure needs 55% of the vote to pass. It would add $30 to the tax rate for every $100,000 of assessed value, with repayment expected to run 14 years before interest. It is estimated to raise about $23 million a year for the two campuses, according to Hoodline's reporting.

What the bond would pay for

The district lists failing roofs and restrooms, outdated electrical systems and aging heating and cooling equipment among its needs. Superintendent Heath Rocha has said the money would also go toward cafeterias, indoor athletic space and classrooms. The district says parts of its campuses are more than a century old and suffer from dry rot, leaks, and plumbing and wiring that must be replaced.

At Saratoga High, the plan includes new math classrooms, a drop-off area along Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, and a building and competition fields for the robotics program.

At Los Gatos High, the district would upgrade its 70-year-old career technical education building and add a field house with a fitness center, PE classrooms and restrooms. A new parking garage would raise parking from 337 spaces to nearly 600.

Both schools would get cafeteria and security upgrades.

Opposition and oversight

Mark W. A. Hinkle, who heads the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, is against the measure. He argues that spending on buildings does not raise academic performance and that the district should pay for needs out of its annual operating budget instead of raising taxes. He has suggested a parcel tax to hire and keep teachers as an alternative.

The district says bond money is limited to facilities and cannot be spent on operating costs, academic programs or administrators' pay and benefits. An independent citizens' committee would oversee spending, and annual audits would be required. A performance audit of the district's 2014 Measure E bond, which raised $99 million, found the money had been spent only on voter-approved projects in all significant respects.

Saratoga High School employs about 145 people in Saratoga, according to the city's annual financial report.

Sources

hoodline.com