Facilities & Bond Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a Long-Range Facilities Plan (LRFP)?

In the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD), as in other districts throughout the state, the Long Range Facilities Plan (LRFP) defines the long-term vision, goals, and principles for facility planning that support the district's educational goals.

The Fremont Unified School District Board of Education adopted the Long Range Facilities Plan on August 28, 2024.

FUSD’s LRFP presents a clear vision and guiding principles that serve as a prioritization framework for future facilities projects. The Plan extends beyond what is currently funded and even beyond what would be funded by the bond measure approved for placement on the November 2024 ballot by the FUSD Board of Education on August 5, 2024 (known as Measure M).

The LRFP communicates to the community what is needed to modernize and maintain District schools; it is up to the community to determine whether they share those goals and elect to fund the efforts proposed in the plan.

Q: How are projects on a district’s LRFP funded?

California school districts have two primary funding options for facilities, and a limited third option through state matching funds.

The first primary funding source is known in California as “Routine Restricted Maintenance” (RRM), which requires school districts to set aside a minimum of 3% of annual expenditures to pay for ongoing facility maintenance. Examples of routine maintenance include roofing, flooring, siding, painting, landscaping, heating/cooling/ventilation systems repairs, etc. Routine maintenance should be performed regularly on a rotating schedule to maintain existing buildings and systems. RRM funds only amount to a few million dollars each year and are unable to fully fund large, more expensive construction, replacement, etc. Maintenance funds are generally used for simple, “single-trade” projects (i.e., carpentry or plumbing, electrical or landscaping, etc.). To pay for complete modernizations or reconstruction where multiple trades are required, a more substantial funding source is needed.

The second funding source typically comes from a general obligation bond (GO bond). A GO bond is a voter-approved, long-term municipal debt paid back typically over 15 or more years. The principal and interest of the bonds are paid with taxes collected on the assessed value of taxable property in the district. GO bonds can range in size and are typically based on the stated needs of the issuing district. For more information about GO bonds, see below.

A third way in which facility improvements can be funded is through state matching funds, also described below.

Q: Are other funds available for facility improvements beyond Routine Maintenance and locally approved bonds?

Yes. The State of California offers several programs that assist school districts with facility improvements. However, these programs require local districts to have “matching funds” of at least 50% of the project cost. Without a locally approved bond measure, districts cannot access available State funds.

The State funds its facilities program through a statewide GO bond which must be approved by the voters. This means that unless voters approve the State to sell bonds, the State won’t have the money needed to support the programs available to local districts.

The State has placed such a bond on the November 2024 ballot: Proposition 2. If passed, this proposition would authorize $10 billion in state general obligation bonds for repair, upgrade, and construction of facilities at K–12 public schools (including charter schools) and community colleges. Click here to see the full ballot text of Proposition 2. According to the Legislative Analyst's Office ballot analysis of Proposition 2 the State bond would cost “about $500 million each year (annually) over a 35-year period.” The cost would be paid out of the State’s General Fund which gets its revenues from income, sales, and corporate taxes.

Should voters approve both Measure M and Proposition 2, FUSD will be eligible for additional matching funds above the $919 million until all approved state funds are exhausted. The sooner FUSD moves forward on the LRFP, the more likely FUSD is to access available State funding.

Q: What is a General Obligation bond?

A general obligation (GO) bond funds projects, such as the renovation of existing classrooms and school facilities, as well as the construction of new schools and classrooms. When voters approve a bond referendum, the Board of Trustees is authorized to sell bonds to pay for much-needed renovation/replacement, additions, and technology upgrade needs. The bonds are sold over multiple years and represent a long-term general obligation, similar to a home loan. Typically, general obligation bonds are repaid over a 30-year period but can be repaid over a shorter period. In passing the bond, voters agree to property-based taxes to fund the annual principal and interest payments on the bonds. The loan repayment comes from a tax on all taxable property located within the District: residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial.

The bond repayment for an individual property owner is typically represented as “dollars per $100,000 of the assessed value of the property.” For example, if the tax rate for a GO bond proposed an assessment of $35 per $100,000 of property value, a property that assesses for $400,000 could expect to see $140 added to its property tax bill each year.

Q: Does FUSD already have a bond?

Yes, on June 3, 2014, Fremont voters approved Measure E, a $650 million general obligation bond. This funding has allowed FUSD to update some of its schools in desperate need of repair, modernization, and expansion. About half of Measure E funds have been used to transition FUSD’s “junior high schools” (grades 7-8) to “middle schools” (grades 6-8) to house students in safe and modern facilities the entire community now enjoys.

While nearly complete, Measure E also allowed the District to:

• Update technology and aging classrooms in schools determined to be most in need in 2014
• Upgrade electrical wiring to current safety codes
• Fix and replace leaky roofs as well as aging plumbing and restrooms
• Remove asbestos
• Build new facilities and add classrooms as needed

However, Measure E was only the first step in a decades-long process to modernize FUSD’s rapidly aging facilities.

Q: What is Measure M?

On Monday, August 5, following four years of facilities planning and discussion, the Board of Education approved placing a new general obligation bond initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

Q: What level of support is required to pass a bond, including Measure M?

General Obligation bonds for public school districts and institutions of higher education require at least 55% of those voters who cast a ballot on the measure to vote “Yes” in order for a bond measure to pass.

Q: Why is a new bond needed in FUSD?

FUSD completed a comprehensive facilities needs assessment in 2024 and identified $2.6 billion of facility improvement and construction. The complete report is included in the Long Range Facilities Plan. The Plan includes a unique profile for each of the 43 school sites, which includes the assessment results, potential projects to satisfy those needs, and a sample implementation plan to complete the work over several phases lasting several years.

Q: What will the additional bonding capacity (funding) provided by Measure M pay for?

Should voters approve Measure M on November 5, 2024, the $919 million in borrowing capacity will allow FUSD to begin the prioritized projects identified in the Long Range Facilities Plan. These projects include but are not limited to:

• Replacement buildings and facility improvements at ALL six (6) high schools in FUSD
• Completion of the Walters Middle School Conversion project
• New kitchen and child nutrition facilities
• Elementary school improvements
• Solar panel installations

The Long Range Facilities Plan provides more detailed information about the projects, their anticipated costs, the priority lists, and the projects that cannot be funded by Measure M but could be included in future Bond efforts should the community determine they are a priority.

Q: Will the additional bonding capacity (funding) provided by Measure M cover all the costs identified in the LRFP?

No. Measure M will only provide $919 million of the anticipated $2.6 billion necessary to complete all the projects described in the Long Range Facilities Plan. Future Boards of Education, FUSD Leadership, and voters would need to prioritize, plan for, and approve additional bonding capacity to complete the projects in the LRFP.

Q: Can bond funds be used for anything other than facility improvements within FUSD?

No. Bond funds can only be used for school facility improvements in FUSD. Because these funds would be approved and provided locally by Fremont citizens, the State cannot take the money and cannot tell FUSD how to spend it. By law, the funds cannot be used to pay for teacher or administrator salaries.

Q: If Measure M passes, what will be the impact on taxpayers, and how does this compare to the annual bond repayments in neighboring districts?

Based on the tax statement filed with the ballot initiative, the best estimate of the highest tax rate necessary to fund a bond of $919 million would be $49 per $100,000 (4.9 cents per $100) of assessed property value. This means that a property with an assessed value of $500,000 would see an annual tax of $245 added to their property bill ($49 x 5 = $245), which equates to $20.42 per month in additional fees for improved school facilities.

Of 17 school districts in Alameda County, FUSD has the 5th lowest bond tax rate. More information about current K-12 tax rates in Alameda County is available in the FUSD Revenue Options presentation prepared by Keygent Advisors. Approval of Measure M would likely put FUSD somewhere in the middle of the group of 17.

Q: Will renters see an increase in their tax burden should Measure M pass?

No. Approved bond repayment fees are incorporated into a property owner’s property tax bill. As such, renters do not pay the fees associated with a bond.

Q: Is there a senior exemption available for bonds?

Unlike parcel taxes, seniors (individuals over the age of 65) who own property within FUSD are not exempt from bond repayment fees. However, it is helpful to note that many seniors have owned their properties for many years, and bond repayment fees, just like property taxes, are calculated based on the “assessed value” of the property, not the “market value.”

Q: What will happen if Measure M doesn’t pass?

If Measure M does not pass, the District’s ability to modernize and construct replacement facilities will need to be postponed until a new revenue source is identified. With a $2.6 billion price tag, the only way to fund the level of repair and construction necessary is through general obligation bonds.

Q: If Measure M passes, when will work begin and where?

If Measure M passes, the work described in the Long Range Facilities Plan will commence in 2025.

Q: Who is responsible for the oversight of the bond funds and who holds FUSD accountable?

FUSD engages a robust set of required and voluntary bodies that ensure the legal and effective use of bonding capacity, as well as the:

• Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. FUSD is proud to partner with its long-standing and highly engaged Measure E Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) and looks forward to continuing the rigorous partnership. According to the California Association of Bond Oversight Committees and California Education Code, a CBOC is responsible for “inform[ing] the public concerning the expenditure of bond revenues. To fulfill this responsibility, the oversight committee is expressly required to actively review and report on the proper expenditure of taxpayers’ money for school construction and to verify that the funds are being spent only for authorized purposes. The oversight committee must promptly alert the public to any waste or improper expenditure of bond revenue.” (Education Code Section 15278 b).
• Facilities Advisory Committee. The FUSD Board of Education has a voluntary, established Facilities Advisory Committee that meets regularly and advises the Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, and Board on ongoing facility needs and planning. Members—who are appointed by the Board, SURFBoardE (the representative group for students), and the District’s labor partners—include staff, a student representative, and members of the public. The FAC is one of the most involved and active committees in the District.
• Elected Board of Education. The FUSD Board of Education includes five elected individuals who serve four-year terms, each representing one of five distinct areas within the District and a student member. The Board approves all facility expenditures and reviews all plans and progress on facility improvements and construction.
• Fremont Unified School District Staff. With 33,000 students and over 3,600 employees, FUSD is fortunate to have an experienced team of business and facility leaders well-equipped to execute the facility plans created through a robust input process. Facilities efforts are supervised by the district’s Business Office, which includes the Facilities & Construction Department. Several full-time individuals are dedicated to the effective and transparent stewardship of public facility dollars.

Q: Why does the plan propose spending different amounts in each high school attendance area? What does equity look like in practice within the LRFP and can the LRFP priorities change?

A district as large and diverse as Fremont Unified, with five distinct attendance areas, must navigate the district's needs as a whole. While it may make sense to simply divide resources evenly between schools and or attendance areas, the reality is that doing so would create much greater inequity district-wide. As such, the Facilities Advisory Committee (FAC)–with equal representation from across the district–serves its advisory function to provide input and recommendations to staff and the Board on how to balance and manage all the different needs based on essential considerations, including:

• The age of the buildings–which are different for each attendance area since areas of Fremont grew at different times and at different intervals.
• The quality of the original design and construction–which may or may not have aged well or stood the test of time.
• The ability of the original construction to be easily remodeled or adapted to current codes and uses–which is primarily determined by the era in which the building was designed.
• Feedback from site-specific staff–which reflects their top priorities as informed by years of experience serving students in their current school building.

To learn more about the factors the FAC considered in its recommendations, please see LRFP Section 5: Planning Considerations (starting on page 16 as numbered on the pages).

An equity approach takes many factors into consideration. FUSD staff and FAC members spent much time analyzing the needs of each school site. When prioritizing which projects would be above the funding line, discussions centered on fairness, equity, and meeting an established standard at each of our schools. The FAC and Board of Education decided to pursue a prioritization approach based on a commitment to equitable outcomes for school facilities, that results in schools receiving what they need in order to satisfy an established standard over the long-term implementation of the Plan. This concept was discussed in various meetings and was included in an LRFP Presentation delivered to the Board on June 12, 2024.

Please know, though, that the LRFP is a living document. What “living” means in practice is that the FAC, the Board of Trustees, and FUSD staff are open to feedback that might change the priority list. The LRFP will be brought to the Board at least annually and, likely, more often. This LRFP is driven by the community, and as more individuals get involved, as elections and implementation get closer, input can drive decisions in different directions. Engagement in this ongoing conversation, especially by new voices with new perspectives, is essential to the success of this effort.

Equity is a reasonable question to raise, so FUSD staff have calculated the total amount of expenditures already spent through Measure E included with the initial proposed priority projects as listed in the LRFP. While some attendance areas received higher portions of attention from Measure E-funds and others are proposed to receive higher portions in the proposed LRFP prioritization list, when taken together, the numbers are reasonably well balanced.

Combined Totals of Measure E and “Above-the-Line” Proposed Priority Projects in LRFP
Attendance Area	Budgeted	Percentage
American	209,810,146.82	17%
Irvington	285,419,936.09	23%
Kennedy	351,973,729.16	28%
Mission San Jose	182,022,812.92	14%
Washington	230,491,124.14	18%
Grand Total	1,259,717,749.13

 

While the differences may seem significant on first blush, it’s important to note a few considerations that the FAC has taken into account:

• In addition to Measure E funding, Mission San Jose High received additional facility improvement funds through Fund 40 (a separate, smaller facilities fund) for a new pool that is not reflected in the school’s total.
• The Kennedy attendance area has schools that need far more significant renovation than other attendance areas. Brier Elementary is arguably the school in the most dire need of replacement, and this replacement represents much of the difference between the Kennedy attendance area and the others.
• The Irvington High project is more expensive due to the design and materials used in its original construction.
• The American attendance area has the newest schools on average, including the newest high school in the district.

The goal of FUSD staff with the LRFP is to generate engagement and get moving on the essential task of bringing our facilities up to par with what is expected, what is safe, what is modern, and what other districts across the Bay Area enjoy. There is no reason why Fremont Unified students should learn in classrooms that are any less sufficient than any neighboring district. There is no perfect solution; but in the case of Long Range Facility Planning, perfect is the enemy of good. As a living document, we can continue to make revisions as we go.

We invite engagement. We invite questions. We invite input. Your input can and does evolve our thinking. If you would like to provide input on the priority list or any other part of the most recent version of the LRFP, please email: fusdweb@fusdk12.net. Your input will be shared with Board members, FAC members, and FUSD staff.

Q: If the bond is paid off in 30 years, what is the cost of the bond, including interest? If the bond is paid back in 15 years, does that save money? Has Fremont Unified School District repaid a bond early in the past?

Based on the tax rate statement filed with Measure M (and based on conservative interest rate and assessed value growth assumptions), the Measure M bond program is projected to have a tax term of 32 years and a total debt service cost of $2.0 billion.  This is a repayment ratio (total debt service divided by principal) of 2.2 to 1, far below the State’s limit of 4 to 1.

If assessed values of property increase higher than projected or if interest rates remain below our conservative assumptions, the term of the repayment could be shorter, or the projected tax rate of 4.9 cents per $100 of assessed value could come in lower. Because of the tax rate limitation, a 15-year repayment timeframe would be unlikely as that would require an approximate doubling of the projected tax rate.

The District successfully outperformed its estimates on the last $650 million Measure E bond approved by 61.2% of voters on June 3, 2014.  Not only will it repay the bonds earlier than expected, but at a much lower tax rate:

• Original Measure E bond program metrics:
  • Projected total cost of $1.7 billion
  • 2.6 to 1 debt service to principal repayment ratio
  • Projected $59 tax rate through 2051
• Final Measure E bond program metrics:
  • Actual total cost of $982 million
  • 1.5 to 1 repayment ratio
  • Projected $34 tax rate through 2046

Q: Are there any waivers for homeowners that are below the poverty line?

Unlike parcel taxes, there are no homeowner exemptions from bond repayment fees. However, it is helpful to note that bond repayment fees, just like property taxes, are calculated based on the “assessed value” of the property, not the “market value,” which may be beneficial to homeowners who have owned their property for many years.

Q: Why are schools more expensive to build than residential or commercial properties?

School construction in California is governed by several state-- based agencies: The California Department of Education (CDE), the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), the State Board of Education (SBE), and the Division of State Architect (DSA). In addition, schools must meet local fire, health and safety, and water/sewer codes. The DSA controls all building design, engineering, and architectural plan approvals for schools. The design standards are set by these various agencies and reviewed for compliance by DSA. When taken together, these design requirements are far more extensive and costly than a homeowner, home builder, or commercial developer would incur in the regular marketplace. All of the additional regulations and requirements are more costly to build than private construction.

Q: Are the project plans and sketches in the LRFP final? How can we ensure special features, such as community spaces and heritage trees, are preserved?

The project plans in the LRFP are not final. Once funding becomes available for a project, the District Facilities Team will begin working directly with the school site principal, school staff, and the school community to complete the design for the schools. This process will require several planning meetings with architects, designers, and engineers to understand the unique needs of the school. The goal of any project is to improve the school for many years to come. This goal would not be realized without back and forth dialog between the Facilities Team and the people who use the school every day. These design meetings will be open to the public and feedback will be solicited from interested parties.

Q: Where can I find more information about elections and the November 2024 ballot?

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters hosts the Official Election Site of Alameda County to provide information and resources for voters across Alameda County.

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Additional Resource: Responses to news media regarding the District's bond measure.

The District received a questionnaire about its school bond measure from a local news outlet. Please click here to view the questions and the District's responses.