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The Menlo Park City School District could go out for a facilities bond measure this coming fall for HVAC units, seismically safe new buildings, classroom improvements and more.
The district’s governing board discussed plans to put a potential measure on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot during a March 7 meeting. Board trustees will make a decision on the measure by the end of June. Although dollar figures have not been nailed down, the district has floated the idea of a $161 million measure.
In December 2023, the board approved a contract for $30,000 with Oakland-based market and opinion research firm, EMC Research, to survey and evaluate the opinions of voters within the district to determine the viability of a bond.
EMC Research Senior Principal Sara LaBatt presented data to the board on voter perspectives on the district’s need for funding and assess the likelihood of success of a bond measure.
Consultants conducted 300 phone, text and email interviews, from Feb. 6-19, of likely voters in the November election.
Recipients were provided a potential ballot description that included the potential amount of $161 million in bonds. It was noted that the intent of such a measure would be “to improve local elementary and middle schools, upgrade seismic safety, and enhance sustainability by: replacing aging buildings; modernizing classrooms.”
Researchers 59% of voters would vote yes on the measure, 35% would vote no and 6% were undecided. This number decreased to 52% after survey recipients heard of potential opposition statements, showing the measure’s vulnerability to opposing efforts. Bond measures require 55% voter approval to pass.
“I think what we see here is that while [voters] love and value the district, they don’t completely understand why it’s needed yet,” explained LaBatt. “This polling is not predictive. This is not me saying it can’t be done, rather it’s me saying there’s work to do to be prepared.”
‘I think what we see here is that while [voters] love and value the district, they don’t completely understand why it’s needed yet. This polling is not predictive. This is not me saying it can’t be done, rather it’s me saying there’s work to do to be prepared.’
EMC Research Senior Principal Sara LaBatt
Questions about timing
District political consultant John Whitehurst of Whitehurst/Mosher Campaign Strategy and Media, suggested the district wait for a smaller election. Whitehurst recalled the district’s past campaigns have been in off-years and or during primary elections.
Board President Francesca Segrè posed a question on how the economy impacts voter decisions during the meeting.
“When the economy is good voters are generally more likely to approve any revenue measure,” explained LaBatt. “You want to be sharing the ballot in a time when the economy is generally positive, so thinking about timing, we know more about 2024 than 2026.”
Whitehurst brought up that during this past primary election in March, two school bond measures failed to pass in Marin County due to economic uncertainty from voters.
‘Parents don’t see facilities challenges’
LaBatt presented key findings from its research show that “voters rate the district very highly on the job it is doing overall,” but that “voters do not perceive that the district has much of a need for more funding.” In addition, the survey found that voters are most supportive of safety, security and seismic improvements.
About a third of survey respondents self-identified as parents of MPCSD and largely rated the district positively and approve of the district’s work. Although the district has been communicating to parents about the need for facility improvements through newsletters, the survey revealed that parents aren’t seeing the need for them.
“The parents don’t see facilities challenges right now. I certainly think there’s an opportunity to talk about what the need would be should you choose to move forward,” commented LaBatt on the findings.
Board member Scott Saywell added that older campuses that need rebuilding like Lower Laurel School in Atherton are in areas where the community doesn’t regularly drive by and see the aged buildings.
“Most people drive around Menlo Park and they see these facilities from the outside and they look fine,” he said.
Board member David Ackerman points out that the district needs to tell the story about the needed upgrades.
Superintendent Kristen Gracia agreed and expressed urgency in further communicating the district’s needs to parents and the community.
“We need to be more specific and tell the stories like the seismic upgrades, why we weed HVACs and how many,” said Gracia. “People aren’t reading regular communications, so we need to be creative and specific in how we communicate.”
Watch a video of the meeting here:
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