By: Nick Trevino and Brandon Andrade
With an ever growing city, more and more children are being introduced to Visalia’s educational programs. With more children comes higher resource requirements as well as more advanced technologies. Many of the schools in Visalia have been standing for well over half a century and have required repairs or updates. This has raised the question, “Where is the money to fund these projects going to come from?”
In November of 2018 a bond issue was on the ballot for Visalia Unified School District voters in Tulare County. The ballot called for the authorization of the district to issue up to $105.3 million in bonds for an estimated tax rate of $36 per $100,000 of assessed property value in order to fund school facility and technology upgrades as well as school security measures.
The ballot question read as follows, “ To protect quality education with funding that cannot be taken by the State, shall Visalia Unified School District: upgrade classrooms, labs and computer systems to support science, technology, English, arts and math; prevent school/classroom overcrowding; and improve school safety/security; by issuing $105,300,000 in bonds at legal rates…”
It has been made aware that every school will benefit from Measure A. Through strong and smart investments VUSD has been able to maintain various campuses. With 80% being at least 20 years old and 60% being over 50 years old, a necessity for new technology and materials have been brought to surface. Further, through Measure A, VUSD plans to replace air conditioning, athletic facilities, heaters, roofs, windows, and computers.
The only other high school seeing the affects of Measure A along with Redwood is Mt. Whitney High School.
In recent years Visalia has experienced an increase in families with children entering the VUSD schooling system. At Redwood, however, there has been various points of controversy on the importance of Measure A. The measure primarily affected the science department here at Redwood as they received a new facility. Most teachers appreciated the new feel, claiming that the new science classrooms made the department feel new and modernized.
However, modern doesn’t always mean a better fit. When asked about whether these changes were beneficial to a students ability to learn, Mrs. Bettencourt, chemistry and AP chemistry teacher, declared that, “students often spend more time squirming than learning,” as the upgraded classrooms came with stools instead of seats. Further, Mrs. Bettencourt gave way to a lack of outlets in the classroom. In a country where technology is slowly taking over, it seemed unnatural to enter a ‘modernized’ room with minimal amounts of useful outlets.
While Measure A comes with a promise to upgrade and benefit schools, more often than not, it does more harm than good. Whether it lacks in outlets or improper seating, Measure A is appearing to be more of a Measure B.
Tags: redwood high school, visalia ca, VUSD board