Castro Valley Unified School District

MEASURE B

Castro Valley Unified School District Bond Measure.

Shall the measure to improve local classrooms/ school facilities; protect student safety/ security; repair/ replace aging roofs, heating, cooling, electrical/ plumbing systems; and update classrooms/ labs for science, technology, engineering, math, core academics, career/job training, by authorizing $212,000,000 in bonds at legal rates, levying $52.50 per $100,000 of assessed value, raising approximately $14,000,000 annually while bonds; are outstanding, with independent oversight and all funds staying local, be adopted?

Vote Required: 55%

Criteria:

        1. Intent of bond  

      2. Amount of the bond 

      3. The annual cost should be stated in $ per $100,000 of assessed value of a property 

      4. Duration of the bond and total estimated cost to repay the bond 

      5. Is there another similar bond already in place? If so that bond information should be 

            included.  

      6. What is the money specifically being spent for?

     7. Is it a Capital appreciation bond or a standard bond?*

       8.-Extraneous language unrelated to the matter which could be considered as deceptive to the 

        voter.

*A capital appreciation bond defers most of the interest cost to later years resulting in a lower initial tax but greater total repayment cost.

SCORE: 3.2

Comments: The score was lowered from the maximum of five because of the failure to provide information on the duration of the bonds and the estimated cost of repayment, whether there were any existing bonds in place, whether the proposed bonds were Capital Appreciation bonds or follow a regular amortization schedule, and because of extraneous verbiage designed to influence a Yes vote such as “independent oversight” and “at legal rates”  Would anyone expect Castro Valley to sell bonds not at legal rates?