PowayPoway — In unofficial election returns Wednesday, Poway voters were rejecting the $448 million “Measure P” bond for Poway Unified School District.
The measure would require a 55 percent majority to , but results showed that it was falling short of even a simple majority among Poway voters, possibly reflecting wariness over a previous controversial bond measure.
According to results posted by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, Measure P was failing with 47.38 percent against the measure to 52.62 percent in favor.
Poway Unified faced a backlash from residents after news reports revealed that a $105 million bond deal struck by school officials in 2011 left taxpayers on the hook for nearly $1 billion. The capital appreciation bonds deferred payment on the principal for 20 years, but vastly inflated the total payback costs.
Measure P funds would be used to improve classrooms, science labs and facilities that college and career readiness in “STEM” fields, arts and skilled trades, according to the ballot text. The district would also use bond revenue to improve safety and security, remove asbestos and lead paint, repair aging roofs, plumbing and electrical systems at dozens of school sites, and upgrade older schools to meet the same standards as newer schools.
Many of Poway’s schools are decades old and need repairs to meet current safety and academic standards. If improvements aren’t made by 2023, 62 percent of the district’s campuses will be considered in “poor” condition, according to a recent facilities assessment.
The ballot measure lists an estimated assessment rate of $30.44 per $100,000. Repayment ratios would be limited to no more than a 2.5-to-1 ratio, and are estimated to be considerably less than that, at 1.5-to-1, or about $650 million total bond cost. Ballot text for Measure P restricts the district from issuing any of the bonds from this measure as capital appreciation bonds or convertible capital appreciation bonds.
Those fiscal safeguards did not appear to satisfy voters, however, according to early ballot results, which showed the measure’s below 50 percent.
Staff writer Emily Sorensen contributed to this story.
