Bond counsel briefs Sequoia CBOC on Measure W duties as committee reviews high‑cost projects and reporting plan

Bond counsel Sean Mick told the Sequoia Union High District Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee on Wednesday that Measure W, approved by voters in November 2022, authorized the district to issue up to $591.5 million in general obligation bonds and that the committee's role is to ensure those proceeds are spent only on eligible projects.

"Measure W passed in November of 2022," Mick said, and he summarized the legal framework that underpins the committee's duties, including Proposition 39's accountability provisions and the requirement that the committee review expenditures against the bond project list adopted in the 2022 resolution.

The presentation and subsequent discussion focused on three practical points: how the district sequences and funds projects, what counts as a capital (bond‑eligible) expense, and how the committee will produce its first annual report. Mick emphasized that the bond project list in the adopted resolution and its Exhibit B — read in full, including boilerplate language — is the controlling document for whether an item is a qualified Measure W expenditure.

Committee members pressed staff about several high‑profile projects in early phases of design. Staff described a proposed multi‑use athletic field (initial estimate discussed in the meeting) and explained that project estimates include substantial soft costs — design, permitting, utilities and infrastructure upgrades — which can make field work more expensive than expected.

Staff also reviewed sequencing at multiple campuses: a three‑story classroom T‑wing and interim modular housing to accommodate displaced students for roughly two years; a planned stadium‑bleachers project moving to DSA review with the goal of avoiding football‑season disruptions; and new classroom buildings at Sequoia High and Woodside High. Committee members noted traffic and parking impacts and urged stronger coordination with local transit to reduce drop‑off congestion.

Mick explained what bond proceeds may fund: construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or replacement of school facilities and related capitalizable items such as architectural and engineering fees, construction management, site surveys and portable classrooms. He added that, under guidance and prior opinions, certain staff and legal costs may be capitalized to a bond project if the employee's work is project‑specific and capitalizable.

The committee also discussed governance and legal compliance. Mick reviewed CBOC composition rules (a seven‑member minimum with several statutory categories), quorum requirements (four members to conduct business), Brown Act noticing and communication rules (72‑hour public posting for regular meetings; caution about reply‑all and serial electronic communications), and the committee's ethics obligations.

On administrative matters, members agreed to pursue a modest timeline for the committee's first annual/expenditure report: committee leadership will draft a preliminary report over the summer, circulate it for committee review at the August meeting, and then forward a final version to the board in the fall. The committee also noted an open seat for a district parent and discussed using small, less‑than‑quorum site tours or contractor/drone videos to verify project progress while avoiding Brown Act complications and construction safety issues.

The committee recorded one procedural action early in the meeting when the body approved prior minutes with a single abstention; members did not take other formal votes during the session. The meeting closed after calendar items and a discussion of next steps on the draft report and site‑visit planning.