Prop. 2 looks to allocate money to repair California’s schools. Will it pass?

Proposition 2 would allow California to borrow $10 billion in the form of bonds to help fund repairs, renovations, fixes, and upgrades for thousands of public elementary, middle and high schools, as well as community colleges across California.

Of the $10 billion, $8.5 billion would be allocated to elementary and secondary schools, while the remaining $1.5 billion would support improvements at community colleges. 

Unlike many other states, California does not have a permanent, ongoing funding stream or money put aside specifically to pay for school repairs. 

I​​n November, voters will determine the fate of 10 state-wide propositions, including whether to approve three amendments to the state constitution and what direction to take on marriage equality, slavery, Medi-Cal, minimum wage and environmental justice, among other topics. 

Five of the 10 propositions currently set for the ballot this election cycle came from the state legislature and the other half came from citizen petitions. 

Currently, California has 977 school districts and approximately 10,000 public schools statewide (including about 1,300 charter schools). The state also has 115 local community colleges that offer associate degrees and other technical and trade work accreditations.

The money acquired through Proposition 2 could help schools remove lead from water or soil, create more green spaces, fix leaky roofs, and modernize classrooms or old buildings. 

“Districts throughout California have schools built over 70 years ago and despite best efforts for upkeep, they may face real health and safety issues,” said Dr. Edgar Zazueta, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators. "When kids are in a safe learning environment, they do better in school.”

Proposition 2 will not be a one-way distribution for colleges or K-12 campuses. If voters pass the measure this November, school districts would have to raise their own money to be able to apply and be considered for some of the state's $10 billion bond. 

After districts raise funds through things like property taxes, they can apply to the State Facilities Program for funding matching, meaning that the state would match the funding collected by the district on a sliding scale. According to the proposition, the state looks to pay a greater match to districts in poorer communities, which cannot generate much local funding. 

The last time voters approved a school-bond proposition like Proposition 2 was in 2016. Formerly known as Proposition 51, it received 54% of the vote that year, but the money from that bond has long since been spent.

In 2020, a school bond measure was also proposed, but it did not pass. The $15 billion proposal only got 47% of the vote, and it was the first time they’d turned down a school bond since 1994. 

This year, experts, including the governor and legislators, hope that by lowering the amount from $15 billion to $10 billion, the new measure will pass. 

More than helping with the building or renovation of new buildings or centers in schools, the proposition looks to make school campuses more environmentally safe. 

Jordan High School in Watts is a clear example of one of the schools that the proposition aims to help. Earlier in August, during the student's first day back in school, there was an explosion inside S&W Atlas Iron & Metal Co., a metal recycling plant operating next to a Watts high school campus. 

Atlas Metals, a neighbor of the school since 1943, has been subject to numerous complaints and criticism for what many advocates say is the disposal of hazardous waste kept within the plant's premises. 

Jordan High School, which has more than 500 students and is made up of an 81.5% Latino population, has been contaminated with the disposing of hazardous waste such as nickel, zinc and copper coming from the recycling plant, according to a lawsuit filed against the plant by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. 

Schools with the same environmental issues as Jordan High School exist in the entire state. About 38% of students in California attend schools that don’t meet the state’s minimum safety standards, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The same research showed that between 2015-16 and 2018-19, 108 schools in 60 districts had to close temporarily due to poor facility conditions. Reasons for closure included broken water pipes, mold, pest infestations, heating system failures, and water contamination. The number of canceled days ranged from 1 to 116, with an average of three lost school days per year.

For Trust for Public Land (TPL), a nonprofit organization that has created hundreds of green schoolyards across the country, the betterment of school environments and facilities goes hand-in-hand with the conservation of environmental justice and climate change. 

 Juan Altamirano, director of government affairs at TPL, said Proposition 2 can also help with greening schools, which will not only prove to be an effective solution that improves educational outcomes but it will also make marginalized communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. He said schoolchildren in California often play on hot, barren asphalt lots without grass, shade, and trees, leaving students exposed to extreme heat.

“In Los Angeles and all throughout California, many schools do not have any green space or field of grass in them. Kids are forced to play on asphalt and concrete floors that trap heat and are not good for the environment or the kids,” he said. “Prop 2 can help us change that, which has been looked at as normal but it is not. We want to change that paradigm.”

 Altamirano, now 35, remembers playing and having recess in what he calls a "hot, barren, asphalt desert,” something he says has not changed for the majority of kids in public schools. 

 According to the Hispanic Access Foundation,  Latinos are 21% more likely than white people to live in urban heat islands, or areas dominated by asphalt and concrete where parks, shade-providing trees and other vegetation are lacking. “In a time where climate change is a very real issue, having green spaces is crucial and the lack of them impacts the most vulnerable communities and populations, which tend to be people of color living in low-income areas,” Altamirano said.

 TPL–which has worked primarily to develop, create, protect, and steward nature-rich quality parks and green spaces throughout the United States, including California--has also begun replicating that work for schools. Altamirano said the efforts to green-ify schools began when recognizing that many children and young adults lack close-to-home access to parks, especially those living in urban cities like L.A. “Public schools are also public spaces and many times, those are the only places where kids are able to do any recreational activities,” he said. “Our hope is to help create more green schoolyards for the community. This is ultimately for them; it's the community that is going to live and interact with these possible school facilities.” 

 In January of this year, in partnership with LAUSD, TPL unveiled a new green schoolyard at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, located in the Westlake/MacArthur Park area. 

 At Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, the green schoolyard started with student-led design, where TPL spent 10 weeks teaching students about the environmental and sustainability benefits that could be incorporated into the schoolyard design. Today the school site, once covered with asphalt with little shade canopy, has 26 new native trees and over 500 native shrubs, as well as a new play structure and shaded outdoor classroom. Apart from overseeing the design and construction of the schoolyard, TPL also helped to apply for funds that could make this a reality. 

 TPL has also launched the Los Angeles Green Schoolyards Initiative, where, in partnership with school districts and local nonprofits, they aim to transform 28 asphalt playgrounds into high-quality green spaces for students and local communities in time for the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

 “Our goals are to create more spaces like these in other schools in L.A. We're working to develop several others [green school yards] in coordination with LAUSD, but funding is needed,” Altamirano said. 

 Those in opposition to Proposition 2 argue that the costs are too high, especially as the bond that works as a loan would need to be paid back with interest. The estimated cost to repay the bond would be about $500 million yearly over 35 years. Payments would be made from the state general fund, the account the state uses to pay for most public services, including education, health care, and prisons, according to the Legislative Analyst’s office.

Altamirano and other supporters of Proposition 2 argue that many schools and community colleges are outdated and need basic health and safety repairs to prepare students for college and careers and to retain and attract quality teachers. “One thing to remember here is that the benefits of having a physically and mentally healthy kid who is active and  [academically] prepared are priceless,” he said. “We should be concentrating on the long-term benefits that kids will have as a result of having green spaces and better schools.”

General election day will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Early voting began on October 7. You can register to vote or check your registration status online on the California Online Voter Registration page.

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