League of Women Voters of California
| ||||
 |
|
|||
|
Measure K Safe, healthy neighborhood schools Los Angeles Unified School District General Obligation Bond Measure - 55% Approval Required 488,849 / 68.08% Yes votes ...... 229,181 / 31.92% No votes
See Also:
Index of all Measures |
||||
| ||||
| Results as of Nov 26 10:38am, 100.00% of Precincts Reporting (2,150/2,150) |
| Information shown below: Summary | Impartial Analysis | Arguments | Tax Rate Statement | | |||||
|
To improve local schools and relieve classroom overcrowding, shall Los Angeles Unified School District repair, renovate, acquire, lease school buildings, classrooms, libraries, restrooms, science laboratories, capital projects; upgrade fire/security systems, earthquake retrofitting, lighting, heating; acquire library books; eliminate hazards of asbestos, lead paint; upgrade wiring for computers; build neighborhood schools, by issuing $3.35 billion in bonds, at legal interest rates, with guaranteed annual financial audits, citizens' oversight committee, no money for administrators' salaries?
English http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/announcements/Measure_K_English.pdf Spanish http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/announcements/Measure_K_Spanish.pdf Korean http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/announcements/Measure_K_Korean.pdf
Approval of Measure K would authorize the Los Angeles Unified School District ("District") to issue up to $3,350,000,000 in general obligation bonds. Funds received from the sale of the bonds would be used only for the construction, rehabilitation and equipping of District facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for District facilities. No funds may be used for teacher or administrator salaries, or other school operating expenses. As required by law, the Board of Education of the District ("Board of Education") has adopted a list of the specific school facilities projects to be funded by the sale of the bonds. The Board of Education will conduct annual, independent financial and performance audits to ensure that funds received from the sale of the bonds will have been expended only on the specific projects listed, and will appoint a citizen's oversight committee to inform the public on expenditures. The bonds would be issued and sold at an interest rate not to exceed the maximum rate allowed by law, and would be repaid by a property tax levied upon real property located within the District over a period not to exceed forty (40) years. The tax rate levied as the result of approval of this Measure shall be no more than $60 per $100,000 of taxable property value within the District. This Measure requires a fifty-five percent (55%) vote for passage. NOTICE TO VOTERS Approval of Measure K does not guarantee that the proposed project or projects in the Los Angeles Unified School District that are the subject of bonds under Measure K will be funded beyond the local revenues generated by Measure K. The school district's proposal for the project or projects may assume the receipt of matching state funds, which could be subject to appropriation by the Legislature or approval of a statewide bond measure.
|
| ||||
| Arguments For Measure K | Arguments Against Measure K | ||
| Our children need Measure K.
Most of our local schools are over 55 years old. Many of our children are forced to attend school in deteriorated, overcrowded classrooms. Measure K will permit local schools to repair leaky roofs, unsanitary bathrooms, and electrical wiring. Measure K will help make urgently needed earthquake and fire safety improvements. Many of our schools are severely overcrowded. Over the next decade our district will likely grow by 200,000 students. Measure K will help relieve overcrowding by permitting the construction of 80 new schools and 79 additions or expansions. Measure K means children can choose to attend school in their own neighborhood, and avoid taking long bus rides to and from school. A clean and safe learning environment reduces truancy, gang activity and drug use. Measure K will mean safer schools and neighborhoods. Everyone knows it is cheaper to upgrade and repair schools now, before problems get worse. Measure K makes sense for taxpayers. Measure K provides school libraries with new and modern books and technology. By law, money from Measure K can only be spent on school buildings, classrooms and instructional materials. Not one cent will go to administrators' salaries. Tough, independent audits and fiscal oversight will provide open, public accounting to ensure funds are spent efficiently and as promised. Vote YES on Measure K to upgrade and repair our schools. Vote YES on Measure K to help make sure schools are earthquake safe. Vote YES on Measure K so that students have up-to-date libraries. Vote YES on Measure K to help eliminate classroom overcrowding. Vote YES on Measure K for tough, independent fiscal oversight. Measure K is good for our children, good for our schools, good for our local economy, good for public safety and good for local taxpayers. Vote YES on Measure K.
LUIS RODRIGUEZ
LAURA N. CHICK
MARY U. TOMA
BERNARD C. PARKS
LYNDA B. LEVITAN
Do YOU remember what they told us just five years ago? LOOK AT THEIR RECORD: Arguments for Proposition BB said there would be an "independent Oversight Committee" to guarantee that money was spent properly and no money would be spent on administrators' salaries. Independent audits found the promised oversight proved meaningless. Millions of Proposition BB dollars were misspent on such things as consultants, and salaries and benefits for office personnel. Many promised projects remain incomplete and over budget. LOOK AT YOUR TAX BILL: L.A. Unified officials want 3.3 billion more, nearly $7 billion with interest. Add the cost of measure K to what you are already paying for Proposition BB. For the average home, the Los Angeles Daily News estimates the annual cost at over $300 per year. On this same ballot are two more efforts by the County of Los Angeles to increase taxes. State government wants more of your money. Add it up. This amounts to real money and increasing hardship for many homeowners and renters. L.A. Unified officials want you to forget the past, but based on their record, do you trust them? Would you buy a used car from them? Ask yourself, do you think the Los Angeles Unified School District is doing a good job? If the answer is no, VOTE NO ON MEASURE K.
JON COUPAL
ERNEST DYNDA
| WARNING: The lobbying firm paid by the L.A. Unified to push this tax
increase bond also represented developers who stand to make millions if voters
approve Measure K, reports the Los Angeles Times!
These are uncertain times, but what is sure is that if Measure K passes, taxes will go up. Homeowners will have a lien placed on their homes to guarantee repayment of this almost $7 billion dollar bond, including interest. Many renters will see higher rents as landlords pass on higher taxes. Higher taxes for what? Just five years ago voters approved Proposition BB, a $2.4 billion bond that was the largest local school bond in history. Voters were told the need was great, the money would be carefully spent and there would be lots of oversight! An audit released in June by State Controller Cathleen Connell shows that many promised projects remain incomplete and are over budget. The audit reveals millions of dollars have been misspent -- the bond specifically prohibited spending money on salaries, yet $87 million was spent on ineligible costs, including legal settlements, salaries and benefits for office personnel and construction management fees. Oversight proved meaningless. Connell's report concludes that the campaign to pass Proposition BB misled voters. "Proposition BB was a fraud on the public from start to finish," says the Los Angeles Daily News. Taxpayers will be paying for this "fraud" for another 20 years. Now, the same school district that spent nearly $200 million on the Belmont Learning Center, where toxic chemicals are leaching from the ground, and is spending over $150 million on a luxurious new headquarters for top administrators, wants billions more from taxpayers. Ask yourself, do you believe the LAUSD is doing a good Job? If the answer is no, VOTE NO ON MEASURE K.
JON COUPAL
ERNEST DYNDA
By state law, money from Measure K can only be spent on building and repairing schools and classrooms and providing instructional materials. Measure K contains the toughest independent citizens' oversight of any bond and annual audits # even stronger oversight than state law requires. The school bond passed in 1997 has paid for over 6,000 critical school repair projects. Over 93% of the projects funded by that bond will be completed or in progress by March 2003. It was a good start, but many schools still need to be repaired and we still need to build classrooms for our kids to reduce overcrowding. It's no secret that the district has had problems in the past, but things are improving. The Los Angeles Times reported that State Controller Kathleen Connell "credited new leadership over the last two years for bringing new accountability to the district." That's why County Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke, Mayor James Hahn, City Controller Laura Chick, former California Assembly Speaker Antonio R. Villaraigosa and former Mayor Richard Riordan strongly support Measure K. Measure K allows our local schools to qualify for over $2 billion in state matching funds. Without Measure K, our kids will lose out and this money will go to other school districts. Vote Yes on K for a clean, safe learning environment for our children. Vote Yes on K to relieve classroom overcrowding. Vote Yes on K.
SANDY LOFTIN
LUIS RODRIGUEZ
CINDY O'CONNOR
ROBERT GARCIA
LEE BACA
|
| Tax Rate Statement from Roy Romer, LAUSD Superintendent |
| STATEMENT IN COMPLIANCE - MEASURE K
An election will be held in the Los Angeles Unified School District (the "District") on November 5, 2002 for the purpose of submitting to the electors of the District the question of incurring bonded indebtedness of the District in the amount of $3,350,000,000. If such bonds are authorized and sold, the principal thereof and the interest thereon will be payable from the proceeds of tax levies made upon the taxable property in the District. The following information regarding tax rates is provided in compliance with Sections 9400-9404 of the Elections Code of California. Such information is based upon the best estimates and projections presently available from official sources, experience within the District or other demonstrable factors. 1. The best estimate of the tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund principal and interest payments on this bond issue during the first year after the sale of the first series of bonds (fiscal year 2004-05), based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of this statement is $0.04753 per $100 ($47.53 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. 2. The best estimate of the tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund principal and interest payments on this bond issue during the first year after the sale of the last series of bonds (fiscal year 2007-08), based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of this statement is $0.05806 per $100 ($58.06 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. 3. The best estimate of the highest tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund principal and interest payments on this bond issue, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of this statement is $0.05938 per $100 ($59.38 per $100,000) of assessed valuation which would apply in year 2027. The average tax rate over the repayment period of all of the bonds (2003-04 through 2030-31) is estimated to be $0.05057 per $100 ($50.57 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. Attention of all voters is directed to the fact that the foregoing information regarding tax rates is based upon District projections and estimates only, which are not binding on 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 timing of the bond sales, the amount of bonds sold at any given sale, market interest rates at the time of each bond sale, and actual assessed valuations over the term of repayment of the bonds. Dated: August 5, 2002 |
Los Angeles Home Page || Statewide Links || About Smart Voter || Feedback
Created: December 6, 2002 03:14 PST
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund http://ca.lwv.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.