Politics & Government

State Owes Grossmont School District Nearly $100 Million in Matching Funds

Elana Levens-Craig: "To prevent this delay in funding from holding up Prop. H projects, the district will transfer all ongoing construction into Prop. U once Prop. H funds are depleted."

To the editor:

2010 has been a year of both challenges and continued success for the GUHSD Proposition H/U programs. Prop. H is nearing completion and the year was marked by ribbon cuttings for new science buildings at eight campuses. Prop. U is off and running with a variety of projects in design and a second successful bond sale completed.

After many years of work by staff, a deferred maintenance plan has been drafted and presented to the CBOC—the plan is currently under review; see page four of the annual report for more details. Land acquisition and design for a new high school in Alpine is underway—see pages two and three for Prop. H and Prop. U work being done on this project.

The difficult economy and the state’s budget woes have created challenges that impact the bond programs. The state owes the district nearly $100 million in matching funds for Prop. H projects.

To prevent this delay in funding from holding up Prop. H projects, the district will transfer all ongoing construction into Prop. U once Prop. H funds are depleted.

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In addition, the economy and decline of property values in the county may delay some future work. As reported last year, the number of years to complete the Prop. U program has been stretched from eight years to 10 years to ensure property taxes do not exceed $27.90 per $100,000 on your tax bill.

The CBOC spent the year vigorously reviewing the bond programs. Early in the year, the CBOC considered and adopted recommendations from an independent third-party management review of the bond programs and initiated a review of the lease/lease-back project delivery method.

The CBOC Construction subcommittee completed visits to all sites under construction this year. The CBOC also sponsored a public construction site tour in February that included a science building under construction at Grossmont High School, construction on the campus of El Cajon Valley, and a walk-through of the site for the new school in Alpine.

In the coming year, the CBOC will begin the process of wrapping up Prop. H with a thorough review of all activities. Our intent is to complete a report on all monies spent and provide a lessons-learned guide and recommendations to improve Prop U and any other future projects.

I would encourage you to visit our website, cboc.guhsd.net, to review all pertinent CBOC activities and public information, including: agendas, meeting minutes, presentation documents, and links to project status information. Visitors are always welcome at any of our CBOC or subcommittee meetings. I invite you to attend and we always welcome your input.

Elana Levens-Craig
Santee
Chair of Citizens Bond Oversight Committee

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