Bond elections to modernize Manteca Unified School District campuses could become a reoccurring issue every 10 years or less.

The Manteca Unified board is considering a bond election for 2020 — 6 years after voters approved a $159 million bond in 2014 and 16 years after voters approved a $66 million bond in 2004

That’s not only because work being targeted with Measure G bond receipts only represent just over a fourth of the $578 million identified in a 2014-2015 assessment regarding needs at existing campuses but construction inflation stoked by the booming California economy is eating into what the $159 million bond can actually accomplish.

There is also a funding gap for new school construction that exists to cover anticipated growth needs that — if all of what has been approved by the cities of Manteca and Lathrop is built — could nearly double the district’s 24,000 student enrollment over the next 30 years. Growth fees for schools paid at the time construction permits are issued plus ongoing Mello-Roos taxes paid by most new housing projects for school facilities have never covered the overall cost to build new school facilities. Both are capped by state law.

State funding from statewide school bonds bridged must of the remaining gap in the 20th century but that is no longer the case. That leaves asking voters to improve additional bonds is the only way to complete needed work at existing campuses and likely cover new school construction when the current Manteca Unified strategy of maximizing classroom space by building elementary program resource centers at a lower cost than a wing of standard classrooms that frees up 940-square-foot classrooms already in place is fully implemented and filled with students.

How that strategy would work at elementary campuses is reflected in the plans for Lincoln School. Construction of a resource center of 2,500 square frees up existing standard classrooms that would create capacity for 238 students. That would take the existing program design capacity of Lincoln School from 790 students to 1,028 students at a cost of $1.3 million or less than half the cost of creating that space by building a wing of eight classrooms.

But even with the maximization strategy the district will eventually come up short in funding for new construction money.

That said the most daunting task is how to fund work needed at existing campuses that run the gamut from major deferred maintenance as well as health and safety to modernization.

The work that was identified as the most pressing in the five-year old facilities master plan came to $298.1 million. The amount funded between Measure G and other sources was $170.1 million leaving $130.1 million unfunded. That was in 2014 values.

Based on construction inflation since then the 2019 value of that unfunded work is $158.3 million. It also means that some of the work that was targeted by Measure G funds likely won’t get done with the bond receipts.

To get a better handle on where the district is at and before considering a 2020 bond issue, the school board recently issued requests for proposals to conduct a facility needs assessment and to update the master plan. That study is expected to be done by August to lay the ground work for the board to consider a 2020 bond election.

Originally the board wanted to push for a bond election in 2018 but postponed it on the belief timing would be better in 2020 plus the district would be able to fine tune what the most pressing needs were.

Manteca Unified currently has outstanding bond debt of $106.4 million for Measure G and $41.6 million for Measure M. Based on the statutory general bond obligation limit that the district has under state law Manteca Unified can go into debt up to $356 million. Subtracting $148 million for bonds that have been sold and $36 million for authorized but unissued Measure G bonds the remaining general obligation debt capacity of the district is around $172 million.

The district is expected to additional $36 million in general obligation debt capacity by 2030 as debt is paid down and assessed property value grows.

If nothing changed from the 2014-2015 needs assessment if a bond election were held today and approved while assuming flat line construction inflation work needed for existing campuses would eat up all but $13.7 million of the current remaining bonding capacity.

State law does allow districts to ask for authorization to exceed general obligation bonding capacity limits.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com