Encinitas Residents Vote 'Yes' on Prop. P

Encinitas voters have passed Proposition P by a 61 percent majority. The bond measure needed 55 percent to pass.

Also known as the Encinitas Union School District bond proposition, Proposition P is the district's $44 million bond measure that will pay for renovating and updating its nine schools in Encinitas and southern Carlsbad.

Proposition P will allow the EUSD to borrow $44.2 million to upgrade the schools' computers and technology, renovate outdated classrooms, restrooms and school facilities and make health, safety and handicapped accessibility improvements. The measure will also allow for improvements to inadequate electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and aging roofs.

While all eight of the candidates who ran for the Encinitas Union School District Board of Trustees support Proposition P, there are concerns about how the money might be spent. The question is whether the bonds will go strictly to infrastructure upgrades for the schools or if some will be put aside for the administration. There is also some concern that a chunk of that money will go to the state.

For Encinitas residents, the passage of Proposition P means knowing that local schools are being maintained and getting the technology upgrades they need without having to rely on the state for assistance.

It also means extending property tax rates put in place with the 1996 passage of the district's Proposition O longer into the future in order to repay the bonds for the renovations and upgrades. The measure will not increase what Encinitas homeowners pay in property taxes right now, however.

According to the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (which opposes Proposition P), the measure is expected to cost $150 million. It is estimated to take 30 years to pay off the bonds, as opposed to the 16 years it would take to pay off the current debt. 

The vote was 12,973 to 8,274 in favor of the bond measure.