HEMET SCHOOL DISTRICT LOOKING AT POTENTIAL BOND MEASURE
Classroom space is tight, and the district wants to build 5 schools in the next decade.
Voters in the Hemet Unified School District might be asked to pass a bond measure in November to pay for new campuses and to modernize current schools.
School board members will hear a presentation about the possibility on Tuesday.
No dollar amount has been suggested publicly, although a report states the district has $600 million in facility needs.
Trustees will hear that classroom space is at a premium, due in part to smaller elementary class sizes. The rebuilt Hemet Elementary School is expected to open in fall 2017, but that might not be enough as plans are underway to construct more homes in the district. Hemet Unified, which has more than 21,000 students, spans from Hemet into the San Jacinto Mountains and south to Aguanga and Sage.
Another $167 million is needed to modernize campuses, according to the report.
There are plans to open four elementary schools and one middle school over the next decade. The site acquisition plan ultimately calls for 14 new elementary schools, six middle schools and three more high schools.
To place the bond on the November ballot, a decision is needed by Aug. 3.
Hemet Unified voters passed a $149 million bond measure in 2006 and reauthorized those bonds in 2012. That money helped modernize Hemet High and Acacia Middle schools and is paying for the reconstructed Hemet Elementary.
Bond measures are collected through property taxes. Landowners are billed at a set rate per $100,000 of assessed value. Although there are different bond methods, the most common must be approved by 55 percent of the voters and adhere to a spending plan laid out with the ballot measure.
IF YOU GO
What: Hemet Unified School District board meeting When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday Where: District office, 1791 W. Acacia Ave., Hemet Why go? Trustees to hear report about potential bond measure