Hollywood High School is an element of the Los Angeles Unified School District, which is asking voters to authorize $9 billion of bonds.
Bloomberg News
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest within the US, is asking local voters to approve the sale of $9 billion at school construction bonds Tuesday to modernize its aging facilities amid declining enrollment and city budget pressures.
The proposal amounts to the most important bond ballot measure the varsity district has ever put before voters. Revenue from the borrowing could be used to handle a backlog of construction projects, install air con, update Wi-Fi networks and to make spaces accessible for those with disabilities.
If approved by 55% of voters within the Nov. 5 election, the funding could be repaid by increases in property taxes that may average about $25 for each $100,000 of assessed valuation on residential properties, in keeping with a district estimate.
The bond measure comes as the town faces a possible budget shortfall and because the school district grapples with significant funding gaps exacerbated by a shrinking student population.
Advocates argue that revitalizing school infrastructure and academic services is important to draw families back to the district, which serves a complete of about 557,000 students, including areas similar to adult education and charter schools.
Opponents are raising concerns concerning the effectiveness of public spending within the face of the fiscal challenges.
Meanwhile, the town and state are also asking voters to approve several other ballot measures that might raise the burden on taxpayers. Voters in Los Angeles will choose a sales-tax increase to fund homelessness services.
There are also statewide ballot measures that ask voters to approve a further $10 billion of bonds for K-12 schools and community colleges and $10 billion of bonds for climate-change programs.
Greater than 60% of LAUSD campuses are not less than 50 years old, and schools across the district have greater than $80 billion “of unfunded school facility and technology needs,” in keeping with a Board of Education report.
The varsity’s funding has steadily declined alongside enrollment, which has dropped from a high of nearly 750,000 in 2003-04 and is projected to keep falling.
LAUSD’s 2024-2025 budget is $400 million lower than the previous yr’s because funding is predicated largely on enrollment.