5 County School Districts Seek Funds In Tuesday Election

SANTA CLARA COUNTY - Five school districts in Santa Clara County are seeking to pass measures on the ballot in Tuesday's primary election that will either implement or continue funds that they say will help provide a better education for hundreds of students.

The Gilroy Unified School District has plans to build a new elementary school with help from Measure E, which would distribute $170 million in bonds if passed by 55 percent. The measure would also fix leaky roofs, better connect students with modern technology, modernize science labs and improve health, safety and security.

Measure G seeks to implement a $142 annual parcel tax for eight years to benefit the Moreland School District, which encompasses seven schools in West San Jose that collectively serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The measure would help the district retain teachers, build up its reading, math and science programs, continue operations at school libraries, and maintain small class sizes, among other tasks. The Moreland School District's current $95 parcel tax approved in 2009 will expire next year and Measure G will need to pass by a two-thirds majority.

The Franklin-McKinley School District's Measure H requires 55 percent of the vote for $67.4 million in bonds that would be used to help build classrooms, link more students with current technology, replace leaky roofs and increase safety and access for students who have disabilities. The district oversees 18 schools for kindergarten through eighth grade students in an area roughly bordered to the north by Interstate Highway 280, east by U.S. Highway 101, south along Senter Road and Hellyer Avenue and west by state Highway 87.

Measure I, if passed by 55 percent, would help the Alum Rock Unified School District renew nearly $140 million in bonds approved by voters in 2008. The funds would help repair leaky roofs, enhance student safety, update bathrooms and systems to become more energy efficient and upgrade computer technology. Alum Rock Unified has nearly two dozen schools situated in East San Jose that include the Alum Rock, Dobern, and Capitol Goss neighborhoods with students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Lakeside Joint Union School District's Measure J would initiate a $280 annual parcel tax for 10 years if passed by a two-thirds majority to keep specialized training for teachers, purchase newer technology for classrooms, and have "comprehensive" science programs. The district provides education for children in transitional kindergarten to fifth grade at schools in Los Gatos and the Santa Cruz Mountains.

-Bay City News, image via ShutterStock