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Measure M

Measure M is a bond measure to fund infrastructure costs at Davis Public Schools.  

Measure for measure, bond for bond, a bond by any other name is…a loan that the government takes out by lending money to people who buy bonds. Who buys bonds? People like your grandma, who don’t want to put their money in the stock market.

The debt on the bond (aka loan) will be serviced using a parcel tax (an annual premium on our real estate tax bill).  This has the effect of further raising the cost of living in our fair city… for both homeowners and renters alike, as landlords typically pass costs like this on to tenants.

Amongst other things, this measure would: replace ancient portable buildings being used as classrooms; tackle buildings with persistent insect and pest problems, improve outdoor eating areas with shade structures, improve bike parking and car drop-off sites; update classroom technology; improve science facilities and MPR rooms; create a high school swimming pool.

An independent oversight committee would oversee expenditures. No money can be spent on administrator or teacher salaries.

Pro: Davis public school infrastructure needs improvement; there is a little something for everyone school-minded in this measure. Health & safety would be improved at schools via new roofs, transportation improvements, security cameras, and better pest exclusion (reducing pesticide use). New spaces dedicated to science, music, arts instruction.  Kids need to move, and there is no swimming pool nor adequate space for the wiggles at overcrowded lunch tables. All these things impact education quality.

Con: The official voter guide has no counter argument, so our brave presenter devised one for you.  Namely -- it is not equitable nor forward thinking for the City of Davis to improve our local children’s lot by taxing ourselves more while nearby districts with shallow pockets do not.  Local school taxes make the privileged more privileged -- insulate us from state/federal priorities (or lack thereof) and reduce the likelihood that our local residents will use their privileges to PUSH for greater educational funding for ALL.

Nearby districts in West Sac and Woodland do not typically improve their own infrastructure with local taxes. And what about places like… Stockton?  Kern County? Heaven forbid!! Would not Davis residents time & money be better spent if we used all this bond money and campaigning energy to push for an educational revolution at the STATE and FEDERAL level that benefited ALL children?

Overheard (and paraphrased) discussion:

• “While I’m all for the education revolution, I’ve been waiting a long time.  Our kids can’t wait -- they need these changes now.”

• “It is easy to pick apart this bill and find things that bother me.  Do we really need a swimming pool? Surveillance cameras don’t prevent crime, they just catch after-the-fact footage. We shouldn’t be investing more in cars and drop-off sites.. But I accept I cannot micromanage the process -- I just hope the oversight committee does their job.”

• “As for equity, I like Measure M because it spends money evenly across all schools in our district, as opposed to direct donations to various PTAs.  The fact is that most schools in our district don’t get as much state funding as schools with lower median income students. So we must make up the gap somehow, and I would rather pay across Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) than donate to my own kid’s school.  Let’s raise up all DJUSD schools equally.”

Straw Poll

Yes -- 7; No -- 5; Undecided/Abstain -- 3

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2018-11-06 01:46:52   "Nearby districts in West Sac and Woodland do not typically improve their own infrastructure with local taxes." Actually, they do pass facilities bonds from time to time. Winters and Woodland both have school facilities bonds on the ballots tomorrow in their cities. One can look up which bonds districts have passed and when at this site: http://www.ed-data.org/. —HiramJackson