02 Feb Antioch Voters to Decide on Bond Measure to Improve School Conditions

(Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

In Antioch schools, rotting wood, exposed electrical wiring and missing floor and ceiling tiles are just some examples of the conditions students learn in. But the Antioch Unified School District thinks these problems can be solved at the next election.

On March 5, Antioch voters will decide on Measure B. If voters pass the bond measure, it will issue $195 million to the district to update the infrastructure and modernize district schools. The measure will need 55% to pass. 

For property owners, the passing of the measure would mean increased property taxes. Every $100,000 in a property’s assessed value would require $48 more in taxes from owners. 

Antioch School Board Trustee Clyde Lewis Jr. thinks the measure will pass, but said at the Jan. 24 school board meeting that taxpayers and homeowners might have concerns about how money from bonds will be spent. 

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Superintendent Stephanie Anello said a Citizens Bond Oversight Committee would be developed should the measure pass. Interested residents at that time can participate in an application process to join the CBOC. Members of that committee would be tasked with monitoring bond projects, updating the public on how funding is being used and making sure funds are used properly. 

Anello also said that other outreach efforts would be ongoing. The district has an online forum where community members can offer feedback on improvements needed for school sites, which could be used again should the measure pass. Community members would give feedback on how school site improvements are impacting the school and what others may still be needed. 

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Anello highlighted potential improvements that funding from the measure would have on schools in a presentation to the board last week. One school, Fremont Elementary, is currently set up so that students and parents walk directly into traffic, leading to several near accidents and one student being hit. 

“It’s something we’ve been looking to address for a while,” Anello told the board. 

Other schools also have problems they hope will be fixed if the measure passes.

Michael Flosi, principal of John Muir Elementary School, wrote to parents in December that the school needed upgrades that the school was unable to afford. Flosi wrote that bathrooms need to be repaired and weatherproofing needs to be done. 

When storms are big enough, according to the school’s accountability report card, they sometimes cause water to seep into a room. 

Park Middle School also has persistent problems. Conditions in the facility were rated as “poor” in 2023, and parents and staff have asked for several improvements to the school. One of the biggest concerns is the older 15 portable classrooms, which many describe as “disgusting.” 

“Mold and crawl spaces for animals to die in and stink up the place seems like something that would automatically get fixed without the need for teachers to request it,” one Park Middle teacher wrote. 

Some of the funding from the measure would be used to “build up” and create more permanent classrooms, getting rid of the portables. 

Antioch voters can vote on Measure B in person on March 5 or by mail. All registered voters will be mailed a ballot beginning Feb. 5 that can be returned through mail and postmarked on or before Election Day and received within seven days or dropped off at a Contra Costa polling place on Election Day. 

Voters can learn more about how to vote and register to vote on the county’s website.