Manteca Unified has positioned itself to be as close to the front of the line as possible for new school funding should statewide voters approve the $10 billion state school bond known as Proposition 2 on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The district already in the queue for reimbursement for part of the costs for modernization projects recently finished and now underway to the tune of $98 million.
That money — once it is received — will be plowed back into addressing a long list of campus modernization endeavors.
There is $4 billion set aside specifically in the bond for that purpose.
The bond also includes $3.3 billion for new school construction.
Based on a forward-thinking Manteca Unified board decision in August, staff is already authorized to start the design phase of new facility projects contingent on the state bond funding,
Those projects identified by the board at the August board meeting include:
*The building of a new elementary school in southwest Manteca on the site known as Tara Park.
*Expansion of Sierra High classrooms into the storm basin area along Winters Drive.
*Adding to the early education center campus (transitional kindergarten and kindergarten) on Tinnin Road in South Manteca to turn the site into a full elementary school, a high school, or both.
*Adding classrooms to Lincoln School.
*Adding classrooms to Sequoia School.
*Adding classrooms to Nile Garden School on 8 acres the district recently purchased that extends the campus to Union Road.
*Adding to the early education center campus (transitional kindergarten and kindergarten) on the Ethel Allen school site in Lathrop Road to turn the site into a full elementary school.
The board action authorized the facilities and operations department to execute an architectural agreement for the initial design process from a previously approved pool of approved architectural firms.
The trustees also approved an initial design budget of $200,000 for each school.
The initial design is a critical component of the application for bond funds if they become available.
The move essentially gives Manteca Unified a head start on what is expected to be a statewide scramble for the $3.3 billion in new school construction money.
The state is anticipated to provide roughly 75 percent of the cost for new school construction.
The district indicated it is in a position to fund the 25 percent local share of some of the projects with bonding capacity of existing community facilities districts and growth fees collected on new development.
The board made it clear they were not dictating any particular order of facilities for the new school funding process.
District Superintendent Clarke Burke said the board decision that includes seven new facility options gives Manteca Unified maximum flexibility in dealing with growth in the most effective manner.
Depending upon the available of state funding it could be additional neighborhood schools or adding on to existing campuses.
In either case, the district will be able to address the educational needs of students per se.
And while parents may prefer a neighborhood school, if funding constraints arise on the state level, the district could still fund needed classrooms to handle growth on campuses that already have adequate support facilities in place.
Advancing any of the seven projects is dependent on passage of Proposition 2 that creates a $500 million annual obligation against the state’s general fund for 35 years.
The only other way the district could raise the funds to wed with CFD and developer fees to build new facilities would be the passage of a bond for that specific purpose that would encumber property owners in Manteca, Lathrop, and the Weston Ranch area of Stockton.
Manteca Unified is pursuing an early education campus on Tinnin Road for kindergarten and transitional kindergarten that would be eligible for funding from that portion of Proposition 2.
Proposition 2 also includes $115 million for lead in water testing and remediation, $600 million for career technical education, and $600 million for charter schools.
The district, which received state funding for the CTE complex recently built at East Union, is also seeking funding for a new CTE faciality at Manteca a High.
As such, that part of the bond could relieve local property taxpayers of costs connected with building a CTE complex at Manteca High.
California’s public schools serve more than 6 million students at 10,000-plus schools in more than 300,000 classrooms — 70% of which are more than 25 years old.
Schools statewide are projected to need about $117 billion for facilities. About 69% of that amount is needed for school maintenance and modernization— updating science labs and adding computers, for example — while only 10% is needed to keep pace with enrollment or address overcrowding.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
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