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Ravenswood City School District is pursuing a $70 million bond measure to fund the construction of new classrooms, primarily at Costaño School of the Arts. Measure A on the June 2 ballot aims to address the anticipated jump in enrollment after The Primary School in East Palo Alto closes this summer
The school board voted to file for a bond measure in late February. Jenny Varghese Bloom, who serves on the board and is also volunteering for the Measure A campaign, explained that construction plans were already set but, with more students expected, it made sense to pursue an expansion of Costaño that goes beyond the existing renovation plans.
In 2022, Ravenswood passed Measure I, a $110 million facilities bond that passed with 72% approval. This bond measure has funded for the construction of Belle Haven Elementary’s new campus and upgrades to Los Robles-Ronald McNair Academy and Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School.
The board didn’t anticipate having to come back to the community and ask for another bond measure, Bloom said.
“We’re really trying to see it as an opportunity to benefit all of our community,” she said. “We know it’s a generational ask but I think that when you invest in your schools, you are investing in your community.”
If approved, Measure A will tax property owners an average of $27.50 per $100,000 of assessed valuation until June 30, 2053. The bond will need to be approved by 55% of registered voters who live in the Ravenswood district.
Last April, The Primary School, funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, announced it would shut down its tuition-free private school at the end of this school year. Over 400 students will be displaced, many of whom live in East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park.
The Ravenswood district has been working with The Primary School administrators to create a smooth transition for its students, according to Bloom.
“We were considering the decline in enrollment of our school district, and we were kind of on that track for the last 10 years,” she added. “Then, with the surprising closure of The Primary School, all of a sudden there was an increase in enrollment.”
The Primary School currently operates out of a Ravenswood-owned property that was formerly known as Brentwood Academy, which merged with Costaño in 2020, said Bloom. When the private school leaves the campus, the district plans to transition Costaño students to Brentwood classrooms while construction is going on.
Costaño’s facilities upgrade was outlined for in the district’s 2015 Facilities Master Plan with the expectation that enrollment would continue to decline.
“This construction was already going to happen. We have a window of time where we could make an ask so that we’re utilizing those dollars in a way that makes the most sense,” said Bloom, who added that Measure A funds would ensure a cost-efficient and continuous construction process.
Up until a few years ago, many of Ravenswood’s schools had not been significantly renovated since the 1950s, she added. The makeover at Costaño will mark the district’s fourth recent construction project. Students at Ravenswood’s upgraded campuses are now learning in modernized classrooms with upgraded ventilation systems, technology, safety systems, green spaces and energy efficient infrastructure.
The Silicon Valley Taxpayer Association is opposing Measure A, arguing that a school district with declining student performance should not be building new classrooms.
“This literally is the worst school district I have ever come across,” said Mark Hinkle, president of the SVTA.
HInkle said that for the 2024-25 school year, 87.9% of Ravenswood students scored below grade level in English and 92.8% scored below grade level in math, according to data he cited from the Education Data Partnership.
“Why are we building new buildings for students that can’t read and can’t do math?” said Hinkle. “When you reward bad behavior, you get more bad behavior.”
Historically, Ravenswood has primarily served economically disadvantaged students and English learners. Last school year, 91.8% of students identified as low income and 55.6% of students were English learners, according to the California Department of Education.
Bloom explained that the bond measure is an investment in the future of the community and the generations to come. She invites local residents to come visit Ravenswood’s newly renovated campuses to see the impact that they have on students.
“All of those campuses are a testament to our community saying yes for these measures, and we really hope that they see that we are investing back into the community by using their dollars well,” Bloom said.
Bloom said a Measure A committee has not been formed but is in the works. Individuals interested in volunteering for the campaign can contact her at jennyvarghesebloom@gmail.com.
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