The Californians for Quality Schools campaign has announced that Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) has endorsed the Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016. The measure, which will appear on the November 2016 ballot, is a $9 billion state school facilities bond to adequately fund K-12 and community college school construction and modernization projects throughout the state.
“The School Facility Program is one of the most successful state and local partnerships in California,” said Assemblymember Lackey. “The partnership involves our whole community – residents, builders, the state and local school districts to ensure that the classrooms and school facilities used by students are safe and up-to-date. We need to pass the bond in November and keep this partnership in place for future generations.”
The initiative language retains the successful current funding partnership between the state and local entities, where eligible school districts raise local dollars and then apply for matching state funds to help maximize taxpayer investment. The measure will also maintain school district authority to levy fees on developers to ensure they pay their fair share of school facility costs. This program – the School Facility Program – was signed into law in 1998. If the measure passes, the program will continue and communities will have the ability to upgrade aging facilities to meet current health and safety standards and educational needs, and to build new facilities. It will also allow communities to invest in community college facilities that support job-training programs. Research demonstrates that infrastructure investment – like school construction – will yield economic benefits as well, with studies showing that 13,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion of infrastructure investment.
The Coalition for Adequate School Housing partnered with the California Building Industry Association to qualify the initiative for the November 2016 ballot.