by Mark McDermott
Measure RLS, the $200 million school bond intended to upgrade local schools, and Measure MMB, a half-cent sales tax increase that will provide the City of Manhattan Beach with $5 million in revenue annually, both succeeded at the ballot on Tuesday.
Though votes are still being tallied, each measure won enough support on Election day so ensure passage. Measure RLS garnered 9,866 votes, or 64.9 percent approval, well beyond the 55 percent supermajority threshold required for passage. Measure MMB, which required only a simple majority, earned 8,482 votes, or 43.65 percent of votes cast.
Larry Zimbalist, chair of the Yes on RLS campaign, said the large margin of victory was a confirmation of the community’s commitment to education.
“We had a pretty resounding yes,” he said. “Looking through the numbers, we had more votes than any of the council candidates, and more votes than Measure MMB.”
“The only thing on the ballot we didn’t have more votes than was Tim Lilligren, but that’s a little unfair,” Zimbalist added, with a laugh.
Lilligren, who ran unopposed, was reelected as Manhattan Beach City Treasurer 11,761 votes, or 100 percent.
Mayor Amy Howorth said that regardless of where people stood on the more acrimonious national election, Tuesday night’s results showed Manhattan Beach’s shared community values.
“Every single elected official and every single candidate supported both Measure RLS and Measure MMB,” Howorth said. “So I think the community was able to see that we may have different political beliefs or backgrounds, but we all recognize the need for both measures.”
“We came together,” Howorth said. “We supported local control for our community, and I am very proud of that.”
Measure RLS offered voters an unusual opportunity to vastly upgrade Manhattan Beach Unified School District facilities without raising taxes, since the bond will replace decades-old bonds that are now coming off the books. Those upgrades will range from healthier drinking water, bigger kindergarten classrooms with bathrooms attached, roof repairs, and state-of-the-art science labs at all campuses. Additionally, because of the success of Proposition 2, a statewide school facilities bond Tuesday night, MBUSD will receive an estimated $57 matching funds to accompany Measure RLS, along with added developer fees. All totalled, local schools will receive an estimated $275 million in new construction.
“We are going to repair and build our schools,” Zimbalist said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Zimbalist credited PTA and Manhattan Beach Education Foundation leaders for helping educate local voters, and his campaign committee, Nathalie Rosen, Michael Uncton, and David Gendon, all who worked tirelessly to ensure the measure’s success.
“Everything just blended so well,” he said. “The support was from so many directions.”
Howorth said her own support of Measure RLS and that of her council colleagues was never in doubt, because of the importance the community places on its high performing schools.
“Our schools, it’s more than just wear and tear,” she said. “There are major infrastructure needs, and the schools are more at the whim of funding from Sacramento than cities are. So without this, our schools wouldn’t be able to do things like replace a roof. This is so fundamental for new, state-of-the-art facilities, and also safe facilities for our children.”
Measure MMB will enable the City of Manhattan Beach to better address its many infrastructure needs.
“It’s a very big deal,” Howorth said. “This measure was put on the ballot by unanimous vote of Council, which really says something — it says that we all believe in local control, and it says that we feel there is a real need for major infrastructure improvements. This gives us the financial ability to plan ahead to make that happen. We want to use this for infrastructure projects, because that was something that the community told us they mattered to them.” ER
