Measure C passes

As final votes were tallied, Measure C, Mt. Diablo Unified's $348 million bond measure for campus building upgrades and new technology, had won nearly 61 percent of the vote. 

With 153 or 154 precincts reporting, Measure C, which needs 55-percent voter support to pass, was opposed by a little more than 39 percent of voters.

After earlier hearing positive news from the result of mail-in ballots, Walnut Creek Council member Kish Rajan, a strong supporter of Measure C, said these early results were encouraging. 

He and other supporters have said Measure C is critical to provide funds to a district that has lost nearly $30 million in funding over the past few years and had to make $8.2 million in cuts and face the prospect of laying off 200 teachers. 

Measure C funds, however, can only be used for capital improvements—fixing up aging school campuses with everything from basic repairs to new electrical, lighting, and security systems and classroom technology upgrades. The five elementary, middle and high school campuses in Walnut Creek are 40 to 50 years old.

Measure C supporters have said that these improvements will directly enhance student learning, especially upgrades in classroom technology. Computer rooms and science labs with state-of-the-art equipment will allow teachers and students to keep pace with a new, technology-based curriculum—and a new, technology-based global economy.

Also, supporters have said, Measure C will free up money that the district otherwise spends on facility improvements each year. That money can be used to help retain experienced teachers and to save electives such as art and music programs.

Critics contend Measure C was poorly thought out and crafted with little community input. They have questioned whether the measure will address the district's pressing issues—money for its operating budget to pay for teachers and programs. They believe it will be financially disastrous in the long run, with the potential, by some estimates, to cost taxpayers $1.87 billion--5.4 times as much as the amount borrowed. 

Last year, the district narrowly failed to pass the Measure D parcel tax, which required two-thirds' voter approval. The thinking among skeptics goes that the district devised Measure C, which only requires 55-percent approval, as a way to raise money—by any means possible—in tough budget times.