VUSD leaders OK $194 million bond

By Richard Bammer

rbammer@thereporter.com @REBammer on Twitter

In a no-surprise vote, Vacaville Unified leaders on Thursday unanimously agreed to approve a resolution to place a $194 million bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Before governing board members were polled in a roll call, trustee Michael Kitzes called the resolution and the tax measure which, if approved by voters, will modernize and upgrade the district's 16 campuses "the most important" vote to date in his 13-year tenure on the policy-making panel.

"It will revamp the district in so many ways," he said, adding that bond measure supporters must now "go out and whip up the community. It's so important for Vacaville."

Trustee Chris Flask, referring to the bond project list among the meeting's agenda documents, said, "There are a lot of great things in here."

Once placed on the ballot, the measure will require, under Proposition 39, a 55 percent majority to be approved.

As with Measure V, a $101 million bond passed by Vacaville voters in 2001, it would call for accountability measures, namely annual performance and financial audits, the formation of a citizen's oversight committee, and a limit on an estimated tax rate.

The trustee vote, with board member Whit Whitman patched in on a conference call, came after a monthslong process, which included the creation of a "facilities needs list," which trustees reviewed in a draft at their June 26 meeting.

The bond money would be used to "improve the quality of education," according to ballot measure wording included in agenda documents.

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VUSD leaders OK $194 million bond