SVUSD reviews initial Measure X spending




IMPROVEMENTS—Measure X bond money will be used to fund a variety of upgrade projects at all SVUSD schools. Acornfile photo

IMPROVEMENTS—Measure X bond money will be used to fund a variety of upgrade projects at all SVUSD schools. Acornfile photo

The Simi Valley Unified School District plans to spend the first round of Measure X funds on security enhancements at all schools, urgent upgrades, technology and other time-sensitive needs, officials said this week

Measure X is a $240 million bond that was approved by voters in November 2016. Ron Todo, SVUSD’s assistant superintendent of business and facilities, said many of the major improvements will first happen at the three high schools because those campuses have more students.

Fourteen years ago when SVUSD had to decide how to distribute $145 million in Measure C-4 funding, it allocated a certain amount to each campus.

But the process left an impression in the community that some schools received more funding than others, Todo said.

This time around, to dispel any sense of an equity gap between schools, district officials are using “a more project-based approach,” he said.

At a May 3 bond workshop, school board members discussed spending about $73 million from the first round of Measure X funding on projects ranging from urgent needs to two major renovations at Simi Valley and Royal high schools, Todo said.

The projects were identified in facilities master plans that have been completed for all of SVUSD’s 28 campuses. The master plans represent what the district’s campuses would look like if SVUSD had all the money it needs to complete all the needed repairs and modernization projects, Todo said.

But not all the projects included in the master plans can be covered under Measure X. The facilities master plans completed districtwide in 2016 determined that SVUSD would need about $600 million and about 25 years to complete all the improvement projects and “bring our schools to where we ideally would like to see them,” Todo said.

Projects from Measure X will take 10 to 12 years to complete. After that, the district likely will need to seek additional bond money, he said.

For now, plans approved by school board members call for all elementary school classrooms to be refreshed with new paint, flooring and classroom furniture; upgrades to the elementary multipurpose rooms, including new sound and projection systems; new front entrance landscaping; replacement of any old laptops and computers; and new electronic marquees.

High schools and middle schools will also receive classroom upgrades including new furniture, flooring and paint; new computers where needed; “curb appeal” projects including front entrance landscaping; new electronic marquees; and new audiovisual equipment for gyms.

Way down on the priorities list are projects like new buildings to replace portable classrooms on elementary school campuses.

“The high schools have more kids and more programs so that’s where the biggest investments will be,” Todo said.

Todo added that making major project decisions at the high schools may make more sense than some of the projects proposed at the elementary schools.

At their bond workshop, board members also directed staff to do a final survey of campuses, looking at the obvious things that need repairing or replacing.

Todo said his staff will return to the board in about 60 days with a list of such improvements for approval.

“It could be as simple as a water fountain that hasn’t been replaced since 1965,” he said. “The board gave us direction to go back and look at those things … that really need to be replaced.

“They want us to identify those items first before we make any decisions on other projects.”