Bond proposal could lead to expansion of school grounds

Big changes may be coming to Castro Valley Unified School District. Residents, students, teachers, and school district board members joined together to discuss the recent bond proposal to complete the Facilities Master Plan on Feb. 25.

This $123 million dollar bond would be dispersed throughout the entire school district for various repairs, renovations, and upgrades to school campuses.

Voters will decide on June 7 whether to put this bond into action or deny it.

This bond would affect CVHS and all other schools in the district: Alma Preschool, Castro Valley Elementary School, Chabot Elementary School, Independent Elementary School, Proctor Elementary School, Stanton Elementary School , Vannoy Elementary School, Canyon Middle School, Creekside Middle School, Redwood High School, Castro Valley Adult School, and all sites that CVUSD may obtain in the future.

A facilities test was recently conducted and the district found that most facilities are over 50 years old and need repairs and upgrades, such as fixing roofs or upgrading ventilation systems. They also found that the schools’ technological areas and tools need to be upgraded to keep up with students who want to pursue a tech career later in life.

Since California will not fund these improvements, school board members decided to ask to Castro Valley taxpayers pay them back over a time period of 25 to 30 years. They would break the total of the bonds ($123 million dollars) into three increments of $41 million to be sold every other year.

If approved, this bond would be supported by property taxes at the rate of $60 per $100,000 of assessed value (not market value). This means that if you’re a homeowner in Castro Valley, you would owe $60 dollars for every $100,000 of a home’s purchase price per year.  

CVUSD has been working on the Facilities Master Plan and the idea of selling bonds to make it possible for two years now and board members happily passed the motion 5-0 without any hesitation.

Jo Loss, president of the CVUSD Board of Education, referred to the Facilities Master Plan as a “gigantic step for Castro Valley.”

Now the bond proposal will appear the June 7 ballot and Castro Valley citizens will decide whether to approve the plan. Based on a survey, board members believes that voters will approve the bond, which needs 55 percent support to pass.