Trustees of the Ripon Unified School District could be soon looking at another bond election.

They agreed at last Monday’s meeting to “move forward” by conducting a survey among area voters.

This comes on the heels of RUSD receiving 49 percent ‘yes’ votes in support of Measure I – this was the $38.5 million general obligation bond that called for replacing old portable classrooms at some of the elementary school sites with permanent classrooms, modernizing facilities and acquiring land for future growth, to name a few – during the November 2018 election.

RUSD needed 55 percent in favor of the bond measure.

Khushroo Gheyara of Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc. recently met with elected leaders to discuss future bond election options and review what went wrong with Measure I.

Included was low voter turnout rate, in particular, among those who were likely supporters. He also listed “perceived inadequate dissemination of project-specific information” by some community members coupled with an organized opposition and lack of high-interest races such as a presidential election as some of the reasons.

Reconstruction of Ripona Elementary School could be among the priorities for a future bond election.

In fact, Measure G, passed in 2012, helped pave the way for funding the reconstruction efforts at Weston Elementary and, recently, Colony Oak Elementary School.

Establishing the final project list and bond program could depend on the outcome of the survey.

If all goes accordingly, RUSD could aim for 2020, a presidential election year, to conduct the next bond measure