Voters in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties are considering a $321 million bond measure in this election that voters appeared in early returns to be split on.
Measure N requires 55% of voters in the district to approve the bonds. As of initial unofficial results released by both counties shortly after polls closed on Election Day, the measure is getting majority support but falling just shy of the threshold needed to pass, with 53.68% of votes recorded in favor.
Vote tallies will be updated throughout Tuesday night by both counties, but ballots that were postmarked by Election Day will be counted if they are received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 10, which could tip a decision as close as the early returns indicate.
Backers of the measure are looking to raise $23 million a year for the two high schools in the district, Los Gatos High School and Saratoga High School. The schools enroll a combined 3,000 students annually.
Supporters of the measure include Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak and former Los Gatos Mayor Sandy Decker, who signed the ballot argument in favor of Measure N. They argued the funding was badly needed to keep facilities modern and invest in necessary safety and infrastructure improvements.
Opponents such as the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association argued the interest costs were too high and that a previous bond measure passed in 2014 promised to fix some of the same issues being advertised as needing fixing, such as leaky roofs.
The bonds would be repaid through a property tax of $30 per $100,000 in assessed value and would cost about $690 million to repay, including interest.