by Mark McDermott
When the Manhattan Beach Unified School district last proposed school bonds, nearly a decade ago, the pitch was easily digestible, because Measures C and EE included funding for gleaming new athletic facilities at Mira Costa High School and a sparkling new music room at the middle school.
The pitch for Measure RLS is a bit more nuanced and a lot less shiny. The proposed bond measure, which will be on the ballot for the November 5 election, would raise $200 million without raising taxes and in so doing address a long list of infrastructure needs that includes fixing leaky roofs, replacing 70-year old bathrooms, installing new plumbing, and bringing all of MBUSD’s eight campuses up-to-date science labs and modernized classrooms.
Larry Zimbalist, the chair of the Measure RLS campaign committee, was also involved as a volunteer for the bond measures passed in 2016. Measure RLS, he said, would also include new buildings, but this time at every single campus. And crucially, the bond measure will likely be matched by a state school bond that would provide $57 million to MBUSD, giving the district the financial wherewithal to comprehensively modernize every campus, both from a safety and instructional standpoint.
“We are talking about infrastructure upgrades that are at the base level,” Zimbalist said. “If you had a 70 year old house, at some point in time, you’d have to replace the bathrooms, you’d have to consider the plumbing and gas lines and patch up the leaky roofs. And for MBUSD, in many of these situations, the functional life of these buildings — repairing them will only get you so far, so there will be a significant amount of new building that will go on in the future. There will be tangible buildings. The results of this bond will have that kind of curb appeal. There’ll be new construction on all campuses. We’re just looking at bringing safety to the schools, and we’re looking to bring modernization to the schools, especially in the labs. We are looking forward to expanding the capabilities of our students, by giving them the opportunity to be educated in a way that will make them ready for the world of technology as it is changing. I believe this bond measure will have equally, if not more, impact than Measure C and EE.”
One of the photos circulating as part of the Measure RLS campaign is of a rusted-out bathroom sink. What the photo shows doesn’t possess the glamor of the new Mustang gyms, but it is indicative of deteriorating infrastructure that has an equal or greater impact on a student’s experience at MBUSD.
“You’ve got kids going to school and walking into 70 year old bathrooms,” Zimbalist said. “You’ve got kids drinking water that’s warm and in some cases doesn’t taste as good as the water at home. Measure C didn’t go anywhere near replacing plumbing, and this is going to go bathroom to bathroom and do that. This is going to reach incredibly far.”
Zimbalist, who was a longtime financial portfolio manager, also cannot help but be enamored by the value proposition Measure RLS offers. He said when he was approached about leading the campaign, the first thing he saw was how much financial sense it made.
“Being a finance guy, I was always a relative value guy,” he said. “So I was always looking for cheapness among securities. I felt that the opportunity to raise $200 million for Manhattan Beach schools without raising taxes was something that I was already going to be interested in. But then, when they told us that there’ll be a proposition on the ballot from the state for a state facilities bond, and that we will have access to $57 million worth of matching [funds] I thought, ‘Wait a second, we’re not raising taxes here, and we’re going to bring $257 million into the community. Who’s not going to want to do this?’”
Taxes will not be raised if Measure RLS is approved by voters at the 55 percent threshold required for school bonds because measures that were passed in the late 1990s and early 2000s are coming off the books. The new school bond would thus maintain the current tax rate, which is $32 per $100,000 assessed valuation.
Zimbalist also served on the oversight committee for those past measures. He said they were exceptionally well-managed.
“I always want to make people understand that my unique perspective as being a chair and a member of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee for the last seven and a half years is that I got very up close and personal in my relationship with the district, and I saw how they manage money,” he said. “I find them to be a very reliable custodian of capital. And I find that their ability to choose partners, like [architects and builders] DLR and Balfour Beatty is incredibly important. Between those partnerships, you know, we were able to go through COVID, go through supply chain disconnections, and we were able to deliver Measure C under budget. So my confidence level in the district to steward this capital is very high.” ER
