A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR bond measure to support Sunnyvale elementary schools is poised to pass.
Measure C would give the Sunnyvale School District a $214 million bond over the next 34 years for facilities improvements, and preliminary election results show voters approving the measure by 67.59 percent. It has met the 55 percent threshold for passage.
The early results include a countywide voter turnout of about 20.46 percent, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. The registrar’s office is expecting turnout for this primary election to land at about 35 percent to 45 percent, officials said Tuesday.
Sunnyvale School District serves more than 6,000 students across 10 elementary and middle schools. About two-thirds of Sunnyvale’s K-8 students fall within the district, with most other students attending the Cupertino Union School District on the other side of Fremont Avenue.
“We’re just really, really appreciative of the support in the community and the trust they put in us. We think it’s our responsibility to maintain that trust and that’s what we intend to do.” Superintendent Michael Gallagher
The money will go toward upgrading technology at multiple locations and retrofitting old buildings, such as the district’s current project of modernizing Sunnyvale Middle School, which serves more than 1,000 students. The school was built in 1961 and many of the buildings are original.
The district’s previous facilities bond, Measure GG, was passed by 70 percent of voters in 2018, and funds were used to renovate most of Ellis Elementary School and parts of Sunnyvale Middle School. Other unexpected costs sapped some of the funding, however, including upgrading the schools’ air filter systems after COVID-19.
Superintendent Michael Gallagher told San José Spotlight the measure was designed to exactly address the district’s facilities master plan, which made it easy to show voters where the money would go. He added that the district has followed through on past facilities bonds, which has built up voter trust.
“We’re just really, really appreciative of the support in the community and the trust they put in us,” Gallagher said. “We think it’s our responsibility to maintain that trust and that’s what we intend to do.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.