Poway Unified board asks staff to test a bond measure with scientific polling

After hearing staff outline a $1.78 billion facilities need and a local capital gap, the Poway Unified School Board directed staff to bring back a proposal to conduct scientific polling and stakeholder vetting as the first step toward any bond measure.

Jared Boen of Team Civics and Dr. Tim McCclar of True North Research briefed the board on a three-stage process: test, vet and build. "The three milestones are testing a measure, vetting the measure publicly, and then building a final measure that aligns with community priorities," Jared Boen said, outlining tasks the district can perform (non-advocacy outreach, public vetting) and the calendar constraints for placing a measure on a 2026 ballot.

Dr. McCclar emphasized feasibility testing: “We want to understand, is it feasible? If polling shows voters are not supportive at the proposed tax rate and project mix, staff and the board may need to redefine the measure or delay it,” he said. The initial survey, consultants said, typically takes two to three months and is the key to right-sizing a proposal to voter priorities.

Board members asked whether consolidation of school sites (in response to declining enrollment) would need to precede a bond. Consultants replied that consolidation is a lengthy, often emotional process that can be addressed after a bond if needed; they recommended first testing voter sentiment about repairing aging facilities.

The board signaled consensus to ask staff to develop a contract proposal for scientific polling and to return with a recommended timeline and scope at a future meeting, with staff offering to put the item on the Oct. 9 agenda for consideration.