Politics & Government

Prop. Y Overwhelmingly Approved

The ballot measure will pay for improvements at South Bay schools, some of which date back to the 1940s and 1950s.

South Bay voters gave Proposition Y a heavy stamp of approval Tuesday, with 74.2 percent of votes in the "yes" category when 55 percent was needed for the measure to pass.

Proposition Y reauthorizes $26 million in bonds intially approved with Proposition X to make improvements to local schools

The measure of approval mimics Prop. X, which received 76 percent of "yes' votes in 2008.

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Under Prop Y, property owners will pay a tax of no more than $30 per $100,000 in assessed value. Interest paid on the bond may not exceed 12 percent a year, a county counsel impartial analysis states. 

wrote an article that cautioned voters to beware of some bond propositions, and criticized the management of Prop. X.

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In a letter written to the Editorial Board the next day, the chair of the Citizen Bond Oversight Committee said the article put the future of district students in jeapordy.

Repairs, renovations and upgrades that will be made with the money include, but are not limited to:

  • upgrade fire alarms
  • make handicap accessibility changes to classrooms, playgrounds and restrooms
  • repair or replace old sewage and plumbing systems
  • repair roofs
  • upgrades to improve student security
  • upgrades to improve student access to technology
  • seismic retrofits 

Last year, analysis by KPBS and voiceofsandiego.org found that the South Bay Union School District has roughly half of all potentially unsafe buildings in San Diego County in the event of an earthquake. 

Bond funds may also be used to purchase furniture, equipment or land. 

See the attached PDF to read the full proposition.

The school district and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association concluded that the district saves more than $70 million by not pursuiting costly capital appreciation bonds.


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