The Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District is asking voters to consider an $80 million bond measure on the November ballot, nearly a decade after voters approved the district’s first bond measure.
In 2016, voters approved Measure K, which provided $14.7 million for campus-wide improvements, including upgrades to the school’s freshwater, alarm and gas line systems.
Now, 10 years later, the district is seeking another $80 million through Measure D.
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Sheehan said the proposed bond is part of a long-term plan to improve the district’s facilities.
“Our Board of Education, before I was hired, came up with a 25-year plan to upgrade and improve all the facilities on our campus,” Sheehan said. “So the first bond started with some of those facilities, and this bond would complete a large portion of the next list of facilities.”
According to Sheehan, Measure D would help remove about 25 portable classrooms and expand career technical education programs, including agriculture, nursing and automotive pathways.
The proposal also includes funding for transportation vans and additional safety improvements in their parking lots.
One of the district’s priorities would be changing the entrance to a main parking lot near El Rancho Road.
“One of our main goals would be to move the entrance to one of our parking lots, a main parking lot, over about 10 to 12 feet, which would align us with El Rancho,” Sheehan said. “We would ask for a signal to put there to cut down on the traffic accidents and fatalities that have happened in that area over the years.”
The proposed bond would cost property owners an estimated $21.73 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
Some Santa Ynez residents said they believe the proposed improvements would benefit the community.
“I don’t think it’s a lot of money,” Santa Ynez resident Daniel Case said.
Resident Karen Underwood said improvements to parking and pedestrian access would be among her priorities.
“I mean, there are some improvements that could be made. The parking lot is one of them,” Underwood said. “I think it would be a good thing. I think my favorite thing would be having a crosswalk to come over here.”
Santa Ynez resident Laura Killgore said investing in local schools is an investment for the future.
“If we do not invest in our children, we do not have a future, and so investing in schools is investing in our future,” Killgore said.
However, other residents expressed concerns about the district taking on another bond and said they remain skeptical about the proposal.
If Measure D passes, a community oversight committee would be established to monitor how the bond funds are spent and help ensure the district follows through on its plans.
“There’s always a local bond oversight committee that is comprised of people in the community, not people at the school, to ensure that we are doing what we say we’re going to do with the bond money,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan added that Measure D would need at least 55% of the vote to pass.
If approved, the district could issue its first round of bonds in 2027, with an estimated $20 million in the initial issuance, and would have three years to complete all projects. The following installments would be in 2030, 2033, and 2036.
The proposed measure will go before Santa Ynez Valley voters in November.
