Murrieta Valley schools put $359M bond on November ballot

The Riverside Record: Murrieta Valley Unified School District's Board of Education voted unanimously May 12 to put a $359 million general obligation bond on the November ballot. Staff said the money would go to roofs, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, safety systems, and upgrades to classrooms, science labs and career-technical facilities — what the resolution frames as catching up on deferred maintenance and preparing facilities for CTE and STEM curriculum.

The maintenance backlog is concrete. The board resolution documents more than 125 roof leaks across district campuses over the past year and HVAC systems that are increasingly unable to keep up during extreme heat events. The district already carries three active bonds — Measure K (2002, $98M, expires 2029), Measure E (2006, $120M, expires 2033), and Measure BB (2014, $98M, expires 2050) — and would maintain its current $60-per-$100,000 assessed value rate if the new measure passes.

Board President Nicolas Pardue, who voted against a bond election two years ago, supported this one but said state funding formulas keep forcing districts back to taxpayers. The bond needs 55% to pass.