By Khalida Sarwari
Voters in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District approved a bond measure this week to pay for improvements at Los Gatos and Saratoga high schools.
According to preliminary election results, 63.9 percent of voters approved a $99 million bond measure that will refurbish aging classrooms and facilities at the two schools. The measure needed 55 percent voter approval to pass.
Saratoga High School principal Paul Robinson appeared elated about the passing of Measure E on election night.
“It’s a great night,” Robinson said. “Kids win; that’s the headline right there. This is all for the students and all the great things they’re going to be able to use in the future, given the resources we’ve been allowed to use here.”
Robinson said school district officials and supporters worked hard to ensure Measure E would pass.
District superintendent Bob Mistele echoed Robinson’s words.
“Tonight’s vote, passing Measure E, reflects both our commitment and our community’s support of that work to make our schools the best they can be,” Mistele said. “Now the hard work begins, but it’s exciting and our students and our community will be the ultimate beneficiaries.”
Los Gatos principal Markus Autrey did not respond to an email and call seeking comment.
The bond approved June 3 will pay for repairing leaky and aging roofs, replacing or fixing old heating and cooling systems, making safety repairs to classrooms, labs and other school facilities, upgrading classrooms and educational technology and adding a classroom at Los Gatos High to accommodate a projected enrollment increase of 200 students by 2018-2019, according to Mistele.
Funds from the bond will also be used to modernize science labs at both high schools. Specifically, the measure will retrofit an engineering classroom at Saratoga High to a science lab and allocate $2 million to each school for technology upgrades, such as the schools’ wireless infrastructure network.
Additionally, some money will be used at both high schools to build new classrooms for the music departments. The district will also allocate money for expanding theater facilities on both campuses. At Los Gatos High, the funds will be used to build a room for prop storage.
The bond will also allow for the development of a student support center on the Saratoga High campus that will be “second to none,” said Robinson. The center will serve as a dedicated meeting spot for groups such as CASSY (Counseling and Support Services for Youth) and the Common Roots program, which employs a peer-support model to help students connect and deal with issues they are facing.
Robinson indicated that by the time the project is completed, there could be more improvements added to an already long list.
“There are a number of things that still are just ideas swimming in our heads, and now we’ll have an opportunity to sit down and map them out,” Robinson said.
Robinson said he anticipates the project will take up to five years to complete at Saratoga High, with the first part entailing architectural planning.
The bond will expire in 25 years.
The measure will result in a slight increase in residents’ property taxes. The district estimates the average annual cost to property owners will be $18 per $100,000 of their property’s value. That’s on top of the approximately $35 per $100,000 property owners are already paying annually for a $79 million bond that was approved by more than 80 percent of voters in June 1998. Those payments will continue through 2024.
Many of the schools’ needs are outlined in a facilities master plan that can be found at lgsuhsd.org(click on “Facilities” under the “District Information” tab).
MEASURE J
Union School District’s Measure J was passed by voters with 67.76 percent approval, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.
Superintendent Jacqueline Horejs said the $125 million bond measure was the only way to assure schools are maintained and remain up to par.
“The state doesn’t give districts money to modernize,” she said, adding that all students will be testing online per state instructions soon. “You suddenly have thousands of students on the Internet.”
Leeta-Rose Ballester contributed to this story.
