League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Measure I Shall Alameda Local Schools be Improved? Alameda Unified School District Bond Measure - 55% Approval Required Pass: 13111 / 62.75% Yes votes ...... 7783 / 37.25% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure I	Arguments Against Measure I
Measure I is about one thing: improving Alameda schools for Alameda children. Great things are happening in Alameda Schools. Student performance is improving. The quality of education is getting better. Now it's time make sure our school facilities are safe, secure and equipped with 21st century technology. Please vote YES on Measure I so Alameda can invest in essential safety, security and modernization improvements for all Alameda's aging elementary, middle and high school campuses. SAFE AND GREEN SCHOOLS 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that schools are crowded, many classrooms inadequate, with science labs, classroom technology and electrical systems outdated.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, plumbing and heating systems are failing, and lighting, wiring and electrical outlets are inadequate to meet the needs of 21st century classrooms. Measure I will make our schools safer, energy efficient and green. TECHNOLOGY AND MODERNIZATION Measure I will ensure students have increased access to computers connected to a robust wireless network. Measure I will ensure students, teachers and classrooms are equipped with the latest interactive instruction technologies. Measure I will also upgrade computer labs, science and career technology classrooms. Vote YES on Measure I and we can finally replace outdated portable classrooms with modern updated facilities. All funds secured under Measure I will be dedicated to our local schools and cannot be taken away by the State. No funds are allowed for administrator salaries. Annual audits will be reviewed by a local citizens oversight committee. Measure I enables AUSD to be eligible for State matching funds, multiplying our local funds. Children can't perform their best if they are uncomfortable or unsafe. And they can't compete in a new economy without access to the latest technologies. Vote YES on Measure I. Let's provide the schools our children deserve. Direct Argument Signers For Measure I 1. Gayle Thomas, Fire Captain/Parent 2. C. Richard Bartalini, Judge, Retired 3. Roxanne A. Clement, Teacher Librarian 4. Michael Yoshii, Clergy 5. Marie Gilmore, Mayor Rebuttal to Arguments For "I" is Irresponsible! No more student debt! Measure I... provides NO SENIOR EXEMPTIONS. doubles your school bond taxes. increases school tax bond debt to over $300 million. o over $100 million in interest is still owed on existing bonds. burdens Alameda families with more student debt for 25 years. is in addition to a new parcel tax the district is already planning. does not commit to fixing historic Alameda High School. does not provide funding for the Woodstock Child Development Center. does not tell you how much money your neighborhood school will receive. will further aggravate the East-West divide in Alameda. provides for a toothless, after-the-fact, oversight committee of cronies and rubber-stampers that has no say in how the money is spent. funds will be spent based on decisions by a school board that will change every two years. is the latest in a series of school district tax measures with increasing frequency: 1989,1998, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011 and now again in 2014. The school district simply cannot afford to maintain and upgrade all of its campuses. The high price tag attached to the Facilities Master Plan proves that. You should Vote No on Measure I and tell the district to come back with a plan that Alameda families can afford. Tell your friends and neighbors: It's ok to VOTE NO ON I. Signers to the Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor: 1. David Howard, Treasurer, Save Our City! Alameda #1350235 2. Leland Traiman, High School Teacher 3. Barbara Thomas Former Council Member 4. Gregg DeHaan, General Contractor/Parent 5. Janet C. Gibson, Former AUSD Boardmember	No more student debt! Alameda families are still burdened with more than $160 million of debt from the AUSD bond measure in 2004, debt that parents, children and students will be repaying for decades. Now, AUSD wants to more than double that. The school district is irresponsible with your money. The total amount owed for the 2004 measure ballooned to three times what voters approved. Most recently, as a favor to developers, the district "swapped" away valuable land, without getting an appraisal, maximizing developer profits at students' expense. And when the latest parcel tax was passed, in 2011, the district immediately spent "other" money + which the parcel tax freed-up + on new administrative offices. They were supposed to spend money on teachers, students and classrooms. Now the district wants another free pass with almost $200 million. (And remember, the total repayment amount grows with interest, just like your credit card bill.) They refuse to commit in advance how they will spend your tax dollars in this vague, poorly defined, measure. READ THE MEASURE! It does not say which schools will see what improvements. Instead, it leaves that to project-by-project school board votes. As in the past, you can expect the board to aggravate the East-West racial and socioeconomic divide in Alameda, with Alameda's "1 percent" coming out on top. Don't let the district do it again! If this measure passes, your tax payments for AUSD's tax bond debt will effectively double, and that's on top of what you are paying for the parcel tax. Tell the school district that enough is enough. Vote NO and force the district to find cost savings among its 17 campuses or come back with a financially responsible proposal that genuinely delivers equity for all students. NO ON I! Direct Argument Signers Against Measure I 1. David Howard, Treasurer, Save Our City! Alameda 2. Barbara Thomas, Former Council Member 3. LeLand Traiman, High School Teacher Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure I is about one thing: improving Alameda schools for Alameda children. The opponents of Measure I deliberately mislead voters with inaccurate, untruthful statements. They offer no solutions to improve our schools. Here are the facts: Measure I will improve all Alameda schools, not just one or two. Alameda residents will see major renovations and new buildings at East and West End schools. Measure I was placed on the ballot after each school and every classroom was evaluated. There are no frills--no discretionary spending; no money for administrators; no monies for past bond measures. The elected School Board must approve each project, and is legally obligated to spend the monies ONLY on items contained in the Facilities Master Plan. In addition, an oversight committee of community representatives will ensure compliance. Measure I guarantees that all money raised 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 I has broad community support, including teachers, the Mayor, business and community leaders who know good schools help maintain property values. We simply must repair and upgrade our aging facilities. We must have safe, `green' schools that provide our students with the learning environments, facilities, and technology they need to prepare for their future. Our community, and every child in Alameda, deserve quality schools. Please vote yes on Measure I. Signers to the Rebuttal to Argument Against: 1. Wilma Chan, Alameda County Supervisor 2. Marie Robinson Gilmore, Mayor, City of Alameda 3. Roxanne Clement Teacher Librarian 4. Edward W. (Bill) Withrow, Trustee, Governing Peralta Colleges 5. Bram B. Briggance, Alameda PTA Council President

Tax Rate Statement from Superintendent, Alameda Unified School District

An election will be held in the Alameda Unified School District (the "District") on November 4, 2014, to authorize the sale of up to $179,500,000 in bonds of the District to finance school facilities as described in the proposition. If the bonds are approved, the District expects to sell the bonds in three series over time. Principal and interest on the bonds will be payable from the proceeds of tax levies made upon the taxable property in the District. The information presented in numbered paragraphs 1-3 below is provided in compliance with Sections 9400-9404 of the Elections Code of the State of California. 1. The best estimate of the tax 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 estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is 6 cents per $100 ($60 per $100,000) of assessed valuation in 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 estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is 6 cents per $100 ($60 per $100,000) of assessed valuation in fiscal year 2019-20. 3. The best estimate of the highest tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is 6 cents per $100 ($60 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. The tax rate is expected to remain the same in each year. The District's best estimate of the average tax rate which would be required to be levied to fund this bond issue over all of the years the bonds will be outstanding is $60 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. Voters should note that the estimated tax rates are based on the ASSESSED VALUE of taxable property in the District as shown on the County's official tax rolls, not on the property's market value. Property owners should consult their own property tax bills to determine their property's assessed value and any applicable tax exemptions. The foregoing information is based upon the District's projections and estimates only. 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 dates of sale and the amount of bonds sold at any given time will be determined by the District based on its need for construction funds and other factors, including the legal limitations on bonds approved by a 55% vote. The actual interest rates at which the bonds will be sold will depend on the bond market at the time of each sale. Actual future assessed valuation 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. Dated: July 9, 2014

Full Text of Measure I

To see the full text of this measure, please see this web page http://www.acgov.org/rov/elections/20141104/documents/MeasureI-v5.pdf