A measure that appeared on Aliso Viejo’s Nov. 8 ballot, which asks voters if the Capistrano Unified School District should take out a $144 million bond to repair its neighborhood schools—appears unlikely to pass, according to unofficial results per the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
Measure G—which needs 55 percent of the vote to pass—received 54.1 percent NO votes and 45.9 percent YES votes as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 9.
Bond funds would go toward repairing the city’s “aging neighborhood schools, fix deteriorating roofs, plumbing, sewer, electrical systems … acquire modern classrooms, facilities and technology that support college [and] career readiness in science, technology, arts, math and skilled trades,” according to the measure’s text.
Eight schools also need repairs and upgrades to meet current health, safety, fire, and earthquake standards, according to district officials, specifically: Canyon Vista, Don Juan Avila, Oak Grove, and Wood Canyon elementary schools, Aliso Viejo and Don Juan Avila middle schools, and Aliso Niguel High.
The bond will also allow for updates of playgrounds and bring technology into classrooms, according to the school district.
The measure would require Aliso Viejo property owners to pay $44 per $100,000 of their assessed property’s value for the next 30 years.
If the measure passes, the school district would be eligible to receive up to $29 million from the state in matching funds.
Voters have historically rejected the idea of taking out bonds to repair the district’s schools, as the district in 2016 and 2020 failed to pass other bonds for needed updates to its schools.
Orange County school districts currently have up to three bonds for various projects, with tax levies ranging from $7.45 to $79.90 per $100,000 of assessed value, according to the Capistrano Unified School District.
Capistrano Unified currently has one bond with a $7.45 per $100,000 of assessed property value tax levy.
A spokesperson for Capistrano Unified said if the measure doesn’t pass, the district will continue to make repairs to facilities that need it the most.
“We will continue to lobby the state legislature to have discussions about prioritizing school facility repairs because the needs are not going away and every year that we wait there are more needs, and it gets more expensive,” the spokesperson said.
