SCHOOL FINANCE: MBUSD will consider a $200 million school bond
by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Education is exploring the possibility of placing a $200 million school bond on the November ballot. The school board, at its April 18 meeting, heard reports both from its financial and election consultants. Each tentatively recommended placing a school bond on the November ballot, taking advantage of the fact that bond measure passed two decades ago will be fully repaid by next year, meaning a new $200 million bond would not represent an increase in taxes for local property owners and would allow the district to tackle the $153 million in facility needs left unmet by 2016’s school bonds. Those needs, adjusted for inflation, along with a new facilities needs assessment currently underway, would likely exceed $200 million, consultant Annette Yee told the board. “We suspect you will need more than that,” said Yee, who is part of the firm Montague DeRose that has long advised MBUSD on financial matters. “But we thought that would be a good number to start with, a good round number.” A $200 million bond would keep the tax rate just below $88 per $100,000 in assessed value, Yee said, which is what the previous…
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