COLUSA COUNTY, CA (MPG) – Three local school bond measures on the Nov. 5 ballot received the support they needed for the districts to rehabilitate aging school facilities.
Voters in the Colusa, Maxwell, and Williams school districts approved $45.9 million in general obligation bonds for school repairs, according to non-certified results.
Although California is still counting provisional and challenged ballots, Proposition 2, a $10 billion state bond measure to provide matching funds to school districts to make improvements, is expected to pass by more than 2 million votes (58.6%).
All three local school bonds needed 55% approval to pass, with all receiving 58% or greater, election officials said.
With their passage, property owners in all three school districts will pay approximately $60 per $100,000 of assessed value on their taxable property within the district.
Voters within the Colusa Unified School District approved Measure C with 1,604 votes (60.21%) to 1,060 (39.8%). Approval will authorize the issuance and sale of bonds totaling $13.8 million to remove asbestos and lead pipes from school property; upgrade technology for math, science, and engineering; improve access for students with disabilities, and replace old roofs, windows, and plumbing.
Maxwell Unified School District voters approved Measure A with 407 votes (59.9%) to 272 (40.1), according to preliminary tallies, which will authorize the district to issue and sell general obligation bonds up to $9.1 million to repair or replace roofs, modernizing outdated classrooms and restrooms, repair or replace deteriorating plumbing and sewer systems, improve student access to computers and technology, and make health, safety, and handicapped accessibility improvements, officials said.
Voters within the Williams Unified School District approved Measure B with 700 (58.09%) to 505 (41.9%) votes, which would authorize the sale of bonds totaling $23 million to modernize and renovate Career Technical Education facilities, repair or replace roofs, modernize outdated classrooms and restrooms, replace deteriorating plumbing and sewer systems, and upgrade inadequate electrical systems.
According to non-certified results, Colusa County election officials counted 7,092 ballots (66.59%) of 10,651 voters who registered.
Colusa County Clerk/Recorder Cristy Edwards said her office still has 145 ballots unsigned or with signatures that do not match registration, and nine remaining provisional ballots are undergoing verification, although the outstanding ballots are not enough to change the outcome of the local school bond measures.
Under California law, voters have until two days before certification on Dec. 3 to “cure” their ballots, making California’s election process the longest in the nation, officials said.
“Voters have to cure their ballots either by verifying their signature or signing their ballots, and not all will,” Edwards said.
With the approval of local school bonds, property owners will pay more than double the amount the districts will borrow to invest in school facilities.
In Colusa, Maxwell, and Williams school districts, property owners will repay $91.3 million, although passage of the bonds will allow district officials to use the money as leverage for matching funds from the state, officials said.