School board sets June bond vote

Parlier Unified will ask voters in the school district to approve a bond measure in June to pay for a locker-shower-weight room at the new high school gym. The $5.5-$6 million bond measure also would pay for the remodeling of existing cafeterias or construction of new ones at Brletic, Cesar Chavez and Martinez elementary schools.

It will take a 55 percent yes vote for the measure to pass, said Parlier Unified Superintendent Gerardo Alvarez.

Parlier Unified board members voted last week to put the bond measure on the ballot for the June 3, 2014 primary election. Board member Melissa Cano cast the only no vote.

She said in an interview after the board meeting on Feb. 11 that she believes the current school board mismanaged a previous bond that paid for the new Parlier High gym, and she believes the same thing could happen with a new bond.

Alvarez said in an interview that Cano had not requested information from him about the bond measure. All I know is that she voted no and didnt give an explanation for that decision at the meeting, Alvarez said.

Building the locker-shower-weight room with money from the proposed bond is about Parlier Unified keeping a promise to district voters, Alvarez said.

Those voters approved another bond measure 10 years ago to build a new high school gym that included the locker-shower-weight room, Alvarez said.

However, delays in building the gym resulted in cost increases, which the 10-year-old bond measure could not cover, Alvarez said.

He said the estimated cost of the locker-shower-weight room is $2-$2.5 million. State money for school buildings with safety or hazard problems might pay for half of the $2-$2.5 million, Alvarez said. State officials might feel the old showers are unusable, he explained.

Meanwhile, the cafeterias at the three elementary schools are outdated and busting at the seams, Alvarez said. Martinez Elementary, for example, schedules three 15-minute lunch periods to accommodate its students.

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School board sets June bond vote