VICTORVILLE, Calif. (VVNG.com) — The Victor Valley Union High School District is putting a pair of bond measures before voters on the Nov.
5 ballot, aiming to expand and upgrade local schools with measures A and X. VVUHSD Superintendent Carl Coles has delivered presentations to several local organizations, including the Victorville Rotary last week, detailing the district’s efforts to meet the needs of a growing region. “The Victor Valley is growing, and we have seen our enrollment rise by 21 percent in less than a decade,” Coles said.
“Because we are committed to maintaining low class sizes, we must expand our facilities to accommodate growth, while also offering more career technical education opportunities to our students.” While Measure A addresses overcrowding, Measure X would provide funding for facility upgrades, which district officials say are badly needed. “Our staff works extremely hard to maintain our facilities, but some of our sites are simply getting older, and they badly need repairs and upgrades,” Coles said.
“Our oldest campus, Victor Valley High, was built 72 years ago. Even our newest site, Adelanto High, is now a decade old. These upgrades will help ensure our students have a safe and fully functional learning environment.
” Marta Kapelos, a longtime teacher at Hook Junior High School, says she sees the need for repairs and upgrades first-hand. Like many VVUHSD campuses, Hook has several damaged roofs and ceilings, cracked pavement on its basketball courts, damaged flooring, and other issues. “Our campus is absolutely beautiful, but it was built in 1960 and it’s starting to show its age,” Kapelos said.
Funding from measures A and X could also provide for safety upgrades such as more cameras around campuses, district officials said. The VVUHSD Board of Trustees voted unanimously this month to move forward with the two bond measures, which were recently assigned letters A and X by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters. Voters in Victorville, Adelanto and nearby unincorporated communities will vote Nov.
5 on A and X, which together could provide up to $360 million in funding for local schools. As Proposition 39 general obligation bond measures, both A and X require 55 percent approval and have strict accountability requirements. The funds can only be spent on local schools, with no money being taken by the county, state or federal governments.
The measures would cost property owners approximately $23 per $100,000 of assessed (not market) value. Visit www.vvuhsd.
org to learn more about A and X. Visit registertovote.ca.
gov to register to vote..
