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San Carlos School District to Place Bond Measure on Ballot

San Carlos voters will be presented with a $72 million bond measure that the school district says it needs to update facilities and add space for expanding enrollment.

In one of the highest scored academic school districts in the state, San Carlos must be ready to find room for a growth of 600 students over the next four years.

In the three years Superintendent Dr. Craig Baker has been on board, the school population has increased by 10 percent and is now over capacity.

The school district board voted Monday to place a $72 million bond issue on the November ballot in hopes of raising funds necessary to accomodate the extra students and to update facilities and programs.

According to a report Baker delivered to the city council last month, Tierra Linda Middle School and Central Middle School with be most impacted, as those schools have the space to expand.

"We are one of the lowest funded school districts in San Mateo County," Baker said last month. "We need new rooms, new schools. We need tech, science and computer labs and we need to repair and upgrade throughout the system."

The school board spent significant time exploring the possibility of floating a bond measure, including commissioning a study in March to understand the feasibility of such a measure.

The study revealed overwhelming support for the idea. Data taken from the San Carlos School District website showed:

* 71.6% of voters have a favorable opinion on whether SCSD is providing quality education for kids.

* When asked at the beginning of the survey if they would vote for such a measure, 62.3% said probably or definitely yes.

* Almost all of the potential features of the measure got significant support, including protecting quality of instruction, making needed repairs, upgrading classrooms and technology, and making safety improvements.

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Holly Bell May 12, 2013 at 02:59 pm
If the city council likes fake plastic nature, then let them saran-wrap their own yards! LEAVE OURRead More PARKS ALONE!! This is soccer special interest pressure on city government at its worst, and the city council appears unwilling or unable to withstand it. Crestview Park is a particularly quiet, serene, simple park with lovely views which the council now wants to turn into a sports arena. Any day you can go there and see families playing on the grass, toddlers and moms enjoying picnics and play time, kids learning to ride their bikes on the nice flat paved area, athletes and older folks enjoying the flat natural track (the only one in San Carlos) to get in shape, teens throwing frisbees on the lawn. It is a perfect place for ALL residents to enjoy according to their needs, not a sports arena dedicated to one activity at the expense of all. Belmont faced a similar lack of sports venues, but they did not choose to pave paradise. They wisely raised money and built a sports complex and spared their beautiful parks for use by ALL residents. I would like to see our city council do the right thing also. And by the way, the opposition to this short-sighted plan is far more than "some residents"! Please visit our booth at Hometown Days.
Brenda May 9, 2013 at 04:10 am
One summer my kid had soccer camp on at an artificial turf field. It was terrible. It madeRead More everything hotter and very uncomfortable. I had to pull my kid out of camp early because of it. I do not think it is better for the environment OR for kids. Just go to any turf field and try to walk across it on a hot day. Try to go barefoot on it (good luck!) We have been told not to microwave plastic containers because of BPA and bad chemicals that can cause cancer. What about heating up plastic grass and running around on it, breathing the fumes that come off it?? How is that any different?
R. W. Dehner May 9, 2013 at 02:20 am
Artificial turf is appropriate for dedicated use sports venues, not for multi-use city parks.
Gordon cook April 15, 2013 at 11:30 am
Thanks for doing this. The one blatant thing I observe on a daily basis is the number and frequencyRead More of deputy's at Starbucks on 800 laurel street and the sky kitchen. I never see them in the neighborhoods. The police department was much better