District committee recommends $495 million bond to modernize schools, board hears presentation

A citizen steering committee recommended the board place a $495,000,000 bond election on the November ballot to fund prioritized repairs, upgrades and modernization across the district, committee chair Fred Morrison told the Board of Trustees during a presentation at the board meeting.

The recommendation was presented by Deb Caldwell, the district’s facilities lead, and by Morrison, who said the committee’s work was rooted in the district’s long-range facility plan requirements. "What makes tonight's report different is that we are bringing forward recommendations to invest in the buildings we have and to modernize our assets," Morrison said.

The recommendation follows a district contract with Gordian, a third-party facilities assessor, which the board approved in September 2023 and which delivered an assessment by cluster in August 2024. "Education code and your own board policy CS legal outlines the need for a long range facility plan," Caldwell said, adding the committee used Gordian data and additional in‑house assessments to identify nearly 2,000 projects and prioritize them with scoring rubrics.

Why it matters: The committee packaged projects across five subcommittees — safety and security, technology, operations, extracurricular, and facilities — into a single investment strategy. Morrison said the $495 million recommendation includes funds for project management and contingency to address market volatility in labor and materials. The committee also recommended revisiting facilities planning in four years…