This election cycle, there were 14 school bond measures across different school districts in Monterey County to improve aging facilities and provide affordable housing for staff. Most are leading with a yes vote at the polls and 12 of them would pass if the current trend continues.
Measure B, $78 million, from Pacific Grove Unified; Measure K, $19.8 million, from King City Union; and Measure N, $1.5 million, from Mission Union Elementary are sailing through with 73 percent (5,753 votes), 64 percent (1,254 votes) and 72 percent (69 votes) of the votes, respectively, as of the most recent count released Nov. 8.
Other measures that are performing well this election are the $340 million Measure A bond from Monterey Peninsula Unified (the most ambitious one countywide, which includes building affordable housing for staff), with 63 percent of the vote or 16,932 votes; Measure G, $115 million, from Salinas Union High School, with 59 percent in favor; and Measure E, $42 million, from Soledad Unified, passing with 61 percent.
There a couple of measures that are below the 55 percent threshold needed to pass: Measure O, $27 million, from Spreckels Union Elementary; and Measure P, $18.2 million, from Washington Union Elementary. At SUESD, the votes against it are ahead with 59 percent or 1,427 votes. In the case of WUESD, the "yes" vote is leading with 53 percent or 2,010 votes, but it’s below the 55 percent voter approval rate it requires.
Concurrently to local bond measures, Proposition 2, a statewide measure that would provide $10 billion for school facilities—$8.5 billion for K-12—is also performing well. As of Nov. 11, nearly 58 percent of the votes are in favor.