League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Alameda County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	Measure E Upgrade/Repair Neighborhood Schools Fremont Unified School District Bond Measure - 55% Approval Required Pass: 15971 / 61.18% Yes votes ...... 10135 / 38.82% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure E

Arguments Against Measure E

Measure E is about one thing: lmproving Fremont schools for Fremont children. The Fremont Unified School District, over the past several years, has made significant improvement in the quality of classroom instruction that has resulted in improved academic performance throughout the district. Aging schools and inadequate facilities threaten this progress. Our District's 42 schools - with an average age of over 50 years - serve a growing student population of over 33,000 students. Recently an independent evaluation of each school confirmed that schools are crowded, many classrooms inadequate, with science labs, classroom technology and electrical systems outdated. At many schools, roofs need repair, dangerous asbestos must be removed, plumbing and heating systems are failing, and lighting, wiring and electrical outlets are inadequate to meet the needs of 21st century classrooms. Measure E has been placed on the ballot to address the most critical needs. Measure E will provide funding to upgrade classrooms, computer systems, science labs and student restrooms. Measure E will ensure that each school has the facilities to provide quality science instruction and classroom technology to prepare students for college and careers. Measure E will make our schools safer with alarms, exterior lighting and safety locks. Measure E will fix leaky roofs; replace outdated wiring and aging plumbing. All the money raised stays in our community and cannot be taken away by the State. Measure E money will not be used to pay for administrator or teacher salaries. Measure E is an investment in our children and our local schools. Safe, quality schools protect property values and Measure E protects the quality of Fremont's schools. The cost of Measure E is deductible on state and federal taxes. Please join business and community leaders, educators and parents to provide up-to-date classrooms and technology that our students need to succeed. Please vote YES on Measure E. Thank you! s/ Bill Harrison, Mayor, City of Fremont s/ Ujjwala Gadgil, President, Fremont Council of Parent-Teach Associations s/ Dr. Bernard Stewart DDS, President, Board of Directors, Washington Healthcare System s/ Peggy Herndon, Chief Financial Officer, Local Business; 2002 Bond Oversight Committee member; Former FUSD Trustee s/ Ste Cho, Former Vice Mayor, City of Fremont; Community Leader Rebuttal to Arguments For We completely agree Fremont's schools are old and inadequate. For Measure E's $650 million price-tag, all Fremont students should get NEW, state-of-the-art schools, but it will not provide them! FUSD's bond requires that households pay hundreds to thousands of dollars every year, for the next 38 years. By then Fremont's repatched schools will be nearing 90-years old! Last year Menlo Park City Schools finished rebuilding Hillview Middle School for about $50 million. Hillview's old, overcrowded structures were replaced with an award-winning green facility. The new school is a source of community pride (Google: hillview middlerenovation mpcs). For a similar cost, Measure E proposes only classroom additionsvand piecemeal improvements to ancient schools. Menlo Park also completelyvmodernized every elementary school for $12-25 million each. Their students now havev21st Century facilities that won't soon require more taxpayer money for endless repairs. Fremont's 28 Elementary and 5 Junior High Schools could also be replaced with modern ones like Menlo Park's for about Measure E's $650 million price-tag. But that is NOT what Measure E provides! Its cost also makes it unlikely a future bond to actually replace schools would succeed. Fremont's schools urgently need attention, but this bond burdens us with years of massive debt for yet another short-term fix. For the long-term good of our children and our community, say NO to $650 million in band-aids! Demand the NEW facilities that all of Fremont's students deserve, not 38-years of expensive handcuffs. Vote NO on Measure E! s/ Yolanda Bai FUSD Parent s/ Hunt FCN President s/ Brenda Sue Strand Paralegal s/ Robert Chan Weibel PTO President s/ Kathryn McDonald Fremont Citizen

We support public education, and agree Fremont needs to improve aging facilities. However, we can't vote for Measure E, the $650 Million Fremont School District Bond, and neither should you The bond will cost every property owner $300-$1100 PER YEAR, for the next 38 years with NO SENIOR EXEMPTIONS! With interest, it will cost us ~$175 BILLION, according to FUSD For that much money, Fremont students deserve state-of-the-art facilities, not more Band-Aids on crumbling buildings. Of the $650 Million, only about $160 Million is for urgent and infrastructure needs. We still have more than 10 years to pay for FUSD's 2002 $157 Million bond, costing ~$311 million, and our schools will need another bond in a few years to fix the same things, gain. Roughly $250 of the $650 Million will be used to just "upgrade" five Junior High Schools. FUSD must stop wasting money fixing 50-year-old buildings. For $50 million each, other districts like Menlo Park completely rebuilt a Junior High from the ground up See it at: http://district.mpcsd.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=298549&SID The remaining nearly 40%, ~$240 MILLION is to offset "inflation and unexpected costs" This is a vague, unprioritized discretionary "slush fund" Further, the bond language allows FUS to make us pay to buy land and build schools for students from the new massive housing developments approved by the City The Developers must be required to provide land and facilities to meet the needs of new students they will bring into their new developments. We should not subsidize builders with our school tax dollars. Fremont's students deserve new 21st Century schools, but won't get them from this, the largest proposed School Bond in Alameda County's history! Vote NO on Measure E, the $650 MILLION FUSD Bond. s/ Yolanda Bai FUSD Parent s/ Charlotte Allen Retired Fremont Homeowner s/ Brenda Sue Strand Paralegal s/ Mark Benz Fremont Taxpayer s/ Kathryn McDonald Fremont Citizen Rebuttal to Arguments Against The opponents of Measure E deliberately mislead voters with inaccurate, untruthful statements. They offer no solutions to improve our schools. Here are the facts: With 42 schools, Fremont Unified School District is the second largest and one of the best school districts in Alameda County; yet local taxpayers pay less for schools than every other Alameda County school district. Measure E has a maximum annual rate of $59 per $100,000 of assessed value (not market value), and is tax deductible. The average Fremont homeowner will pay a maximum of about $5 per week. California law does not permit senior exemptions. Every child who attends school in Fremont deserves safe, equitable, well-equipped classrooms and up-to-date science labs. Measure E will improve every Fremont school, not just one or two. Fremont residents will see major renovations and new buildings at schools throughout the community. Renovation of existing facilities is far smarter and more cost effective than tearing schools down, as the opponents suggest. Measure E was placed on the ballot, after two years of study where each school and each classroom was evaluated. There are no frills, no discretionary spending or plans to buy land. Measure E guarantees that all money raised locally stays in our community improving our ability to get our share of State matching funds. Otherwise, millions of State dollars will go to other districts. Measure E has broad community support, including teachers, the Mayor, all Councilmembers, business and community leaders who know good schools help maintain property values. Please vote yes to fix our Fremont schools. Thank you. s/ Christina Broadwin, Community Organizer, "Protect Fremont Open Space" Initiative s/ Raj Salwan, DVM, Fremont City Council Member; Fremont Business Owner s/ Gus Morrison, Former Mayor, City of Fremont s/ Sherea Westra, President, Fremont Unified District Teachers Association s/ Robert N. Creveling, Chair, Senior Services Commission

Tax Rate Statement

An election will be held in the Fremont Unified School District (the "District") on June 3, 2014, to authorize the sale of up to $650,000,000 in bonds of the District to finance school facilities as described in the measure. If such bonds are authorized and sold, principal and interest on the bonds will be payable only from the proceeds of tax levies made upon the taxable property in the District. The following information is provided in compliance with Sections 9400-9404 of the Elections Code of the State of California. Such information is based upon the best estimates and projections presently available from official sources, upon experience within the District, and other demonstrable factors. Based upon the foregoing and projections of the District's assessed valuation, the following information is provided: 1. The best estimate of the tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue during the first fiscal year after the sale of the first series of bonds, based on a projection of assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $0.05900 per $100 of assessed valuation (or $59.00 per $100,000 of assessed value) for fiscal year 2015-16. 2. The best estimate of the tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue during the first fiscal year after the sale of the last series of bonds, based on a projection of assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $0.05900 per $100 of assessed valuation (or $59.00 per $100,000 of assessed value) for fiscal year 2023-24. 3. The best estimate of the highest tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue, based on a projection of assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $0.05900 per $100 of assessed valuation (or $59.00 per $100,000 of assessed value), which is projected to be the same in every fiscal year that the bonds remain outstanding. Voters should note the estimated tax rate is based on the ASSESSED VALUE of taxable property on the County's official tax rolls, not on the property's market value. In addition, taxpayers eligible for a property tax exemption, such as the homeowner's exemption, will be taxed at a lower effective tax rate than described above. Property owners should consult their own property tax bills and tax advisors to determine their property's assessed value and any applicable tax exemptions. The attention of all voters is directed to the fact that the foregoing information is based upon projections and estimates only, which are not binding upon the District. The actual tax rates and the years in which they will apply may vary from those presently estimated, due to variations from these estimates in the timing of bond sales, the amount of bonds sold and market interest rates at the time of each sale, and actual assessed valuations over the term of repayment of the bonds. The date of sale and the amount of bonds sold at any given time will be determined by the District based on the need for project funds and other factors. The actual interest rates at which the bonds will be sold will depend on the bond market at the time of sale. Actual future assessed valuations will depend upon the amount and value of taxable property within the District as determined by the County Assessor in the annual assessment and the equalization process. James Morris Superintendent Fremont Unified School District