February 28, 2020

With some polls predicting a tight vote, Californians on Tuesday will decide the fate of a $15 billion construction bond that Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have placed on the election ballot. The money – $6 billion for higher ed and $9 billion for K-12 – will help school districts, community colleges, UC and CSU fund construction projects.

There has been considerable confusion and misinformation about the bond proposal, which, by unfortunate luck of the draw, will appear on the ballot as Prop. 13 — the same number as the 1978 initiative that set limits on property tax increases.

This week, Jeff  Vincent, director of the Center for Cities and Schools at UC Berkeley, and author of influential research on school construction, explains what the bond would do and how the money would be distributed.

Also, four school districts have bond measures on the ballot to build more affordable teacher housing. EdSource reporter Diana Lambert provides the details and Chris Funk, superintendent of East Side Union High School District in San Jose, lays out the case for a proposed $60 billion bond, which would provide housing for 100 teachers and extra income for the district.

For more, check out the following:

Election Day primer: On Education: What Democratic presidential candidates are promising

Bonus: more good reading and audio as mentioned on the podcast – KPCC’s Facing the Music : The Uncertain Future of the Orange County School of the Arts