Measure I Fails to Pass

Orange County primary voters made their opposition to Measure I apparent in the Mar. 3 primary election, with only 45.77% voters saying “yes” on I—nearly 10% short of the necessary 55% to approve the measure.

Measure I, placed on the ballot by the board of the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD), would authorize CUSD to sell $300,000,000 in general obligation bonds and establish an annual property tax within the school facilities improvement district number 3 (SFID No. 3) to “pay the principal and interest on the bonds”: an estimated annual tax rate of $34 for every $100,000 of assessed property value, according to an impartial analysis posted by the Orange County Registrar of Voters. The analysis goes on to state that bond proceeds would be exclusively spent on “construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or replacement of school facilities” belonging to CUSD, including Dana Hills.

Despite the possibility that the school renovations provided for by Measure I could increase the property value of homes in the vicinity, voters were nevertheless decidedly against Measure I and the idea of additional property taxes that would follow—the chief concern of those arguing against Measure I and analogous bond measures concerning other CUSD schools, namely Measure H.

With no other means to fund school improvements, it is unclear how Capo Unified will fund future repairs and renovations—if at all—with the failure of both Measure I and Measure H. Additionally, CUSD will continue to be ineligible for state matching funds without Measure H and I providing local funds.