Bond measure proposed to fix weathered schools

Shoreline school district west of Petaluma, where the “sea air is unforgiving,” is seeking revenue to repair aging buildings.|

Officials with the Shoreline Unified School District west of Petaluma are asking voters for $19.5 million in bonds, saying the breezy, salty coastal air has damaged school buildings.

Roofs are leaking, widows are drafty, and portable classrooms need upgrading, officials say.

“We love living close to the ocean, but the salt air is unforgiving,” said Jill Manning Sartori, president of the Shoreline school board. “It does damage to our facilities.”

The district, which spans two counties from Bodega Bay to Pt. Reyes, oversees five schools, including Tomales High School, and educates 510 students. The district identified $40 million in upgrades, but settled on a bond measure of a little less than half after much public outreach, Manning Sartori said.

“We did a lot of homework going into this,” she said. “I think we reached a good compromise.”

On the ballot as Measure I, the bonds would add $39 to a property owner’s tax bill per $100,000 of assessed value. The district last asked voters to issue bonds in 2009 with a $9.3 million measure, said Bob Raines, the district superintendent. With that money, the district was able to modernize Tomales High School, which was built in the 1970s, Raines said.

If Measure I does not receive the required 55 percent of the vote to pass, Raines said the district would be forced to dip into its reserves and even then only do cosmetic maintenance.

“We’re going to be buying a lot of duct tape and super glue if it doesn’t pass,” he said. “We would do the kind of repairs that don’t last. We’d be kicking the can down the road.”

Like most school bonds, Measure I would create a committee to oversee the spending. There is no public opposition to the measure, and the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association said it is not opposing school bonds this year.

Even thought the bond measure would only take care of half the district’s maintenance needs, Manning Sartori said that the district would not need to go back to the voters for more money in the near future after completing the high priority repair projects. Instead, she said the district would get creative to bridge the gap, looking for grants or perhaps staring a private foundation.

“We will make do with what we have,” she said. “It’ll be up to the community.”

(Contact Matt Brown at matt.brown@arguscourier.com.)

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