Measure Z Projects

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CUSD Measure Z Approved with $347M Bond

Measure Z, a bond measure for Cupertino Union School District (CUSD), has been approved with a 61.07% approval rate. This bond, amounting to $347 million, will be funded through a property tax rate of approximately $21 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, generating $23,300,000 annually. Importantly, Measure Z extends the current tax rate without any increase.

Next Steps: Allocating the Funds

With the bond approved, it's now crucial to determine how to allocate the funds to maximize benefits for the community and the school district. A Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee will be formed, appointed by the school board, to ensure transparency and effective use of the bond money. For more information about Measure Z, please see here.

Partial Project List

The district hired a third party conducted a survey about priorities of the projects.

Hiring Contractors for Measure Z Projects

There is a discussion on the best approach to hiring contractors. One perspective advocates for exclusively hiring unionized contractors to ensure better quality work and suggests using a Project Labor Agreement (PLA). According to sources, PLAs can have various impacts:

Impact on Cost: PLAs may increase the overall cost of the projects
Impact on Competition: PLAs could discourage or prevent non-unionized contractors from competing for construction projects.
Impact on Minority Contractors: PLAs might disproportionately impact small businesses, particularly those owned by women and minorities.
Local Impact: PLAs can be used by public project owners like school boards or city councils to set goals for creating local jobs and achieving social welfare goals.

This issue was visited at the Board Winter Advance on January 23, 2025..

Use Measure Z to Reimburse Previous Project?

There was a tentative resolution proposed at the board meeting on December 9, 2024. The tentative resolution stated, "the District will reimburse the District’s Building Fund 21 the balance of the debt lease financing for the District solar project costs from the bond proceeds from Measure Z".

The resolution was for discussion only and didn't appear at subsequent board meetings.

The solar project was approved on November 2, 2023. According to the presentation, the project is funded with a debt that can be paid off through savings on utility bills. The district starts to save money even with the debt in place. The debt is like a mortgage. If not paid off, the 19 year total payment would be more than $61M.

Pros and Cons of Using Measure Z to Pay Off the Solar Project
Pros:

The district won't need to pay for the solar debt in the future, which will reduce the expenditure from the general fund (about $1.8M per year).

Cons:

It will impact the number of new projects Measure Z can support.
The community may not anticipate or agree with this usage of funds.