Tax bonds
The first school bond measure was passed in 1874, and built the city's first high school and the main grammar school located on Chestnut and Santa Clara. The 1874 bond also purchased property at Fifth and Pacific Avenue, and a school opened in 1875. In 1878 the next bond measure was used to purchase six lots on the south side of Alameda Avenue between Oak and Walnut. Porter School opened in 1879. Additional bonds were issued in 1894 to build four new schools. In 1901 high school students campaigned vigorously to get a bond measure to build a new $65,000 high school. Bonds elections in 1907, 1909 and 1915 funded the most ambitious building campaign. Three old schools were replaced with new structures, and one new school was built. Voters passed a $750,000 bond in 1923 (supplemented with an additional $350,000 in 1925). As a result, construction of Alameda High School started in November 1924, and it opened in August 1926.
In 1933, the Field Act was passed after an earthquake severely damaged schools in Long Beach. While federal funds were used to rehabilitate some existing schools to comply with the Field Act, a $222,000 bond was passed in 1940. With World War II, Alameda's population exploded from 38,000 to 90,000. The federal government built three inexpensive grammar schools to serve children living in federal housing projects that housed the workers for the Naval Air station and shipbuilding yards.
In the 1940s, the baby boom was underway with 15,000 Alameda babies being born. In 1948, a $2,840,000 bond measure was passed. The lion's share of the bond was used to buy land and build Encinal High School. In 1951 a survey showed that 45 percent of children enrolled in Alameda schools had parents living or working on federally related properties. As a result, the school district received $2,250,000 from the federal government for school construction between 1951 and 1955. In 1953 $3,000,000 in bonds was approved. During the 1950s federal grants and bond revenues totaled $8,500,000.
The 1960s saw a frenzy of demolition and apartment construction in old Alameda. Building out of South Shore led to an all-time enrollment high of 12,500 students. In 1967 AB450 required school districts to bring their pre-1933 schools up to structural standards of the 1933 Field Act by 1983 (the deadline was moved up to 1975 the following year). Inspection of Alameda's four pre-1933 schools (Haight, Porter, Lincoln and Alameda High) ruled them to be unsafe.
In 1964 a $4 million bond issue barely passed. Voters rejected bond measures in 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976. During the 1970s the school district had to borrow monies from the state for school construction.
In 1989 a $47.7 million bond issue was passed, which originally cost taxpayers $103 for every $100,000 in property value. That amount declined to $59 per $100,000 in assessed value. This tax was originally set to sunset in 2014, but was instead kept in place to pay for a subsequent bond issue in 2004. [3]
In 2004 a $63 million bond issue, Measure C, was approved by voters. [4] The measure refinanced the existing 1989 bond along with the new $63 million bond issue. The net effect was to keep taxpayer payments at $59 per $100,000, but extend the time from 2014 to 2034. The school district said on the ballot measure statement that it expected to qualify for over $17 million in state matching funds if the measure was approved. The district received about $14.8 million in state matching funds. As of the fall of 2013, Alameda residents could see the tax on their property tax bill as "Voter Approved Debt Service – School Unified."
In 2014, Measure I, a $179 million bond issue, was approved by voters.
IN 2022, Measure B, a $298 million bond issue, was approved by voters to complete modernization at Alameda High School and Encinal Jr/Sr High School. The bond also includes funding to modernize Wood Middle and Lincoln Middle Schools.
General parcel taxes
A four-year $50 parcel tax (Measure A) failed in 1997. The election was on June 3, and the measure garnered only 57.5% of the vote, falling short of the two-third's supermajority required to pass. [5]
In 2001, a five-year $109 per parcel tax (Measure A) [6] was approved by voters.
In 2005, the parcel tax from 2001 (Measure A) was increased to $189 and extended for seven years.
In 2008, a four-year parcel tax (Measure H) was passed. The residential parcel rate was $120 and commercial rate was 15 cents per square foot, with a minimum of $120 and maximum of $9,500. Two lawsuits were filed challenging the legality of Measure H. Both parcel taxes, Measure A and Measure H, were set to expire in 2012.
In 2010, Measure E, which would have replaced Measures A and H with a new tax, and increased the rate from $309/yr to $659/year for a residential parcel, received 65.6% of the vote, falling short of the 2/3 approval required to pass. [7]
Following the failure of Measure E in 2010, AUSD placed a new ballot measure, Measure A, on the ballot for March 8, 2011. The measure as proposed would tax parcels at a nominal rate of 32 cents per building square foot, with a maximum tax of $7,999/year. Parcels with no building improvements would pay a minimum $299/year. [8] The measure passed with a 68% approval.
In 2013, the California Supreme Court held that a prior lower court ruling would stand, a ruling that upheld a portion of the Borikas lawsuit over Measure H, declaring that the school district could not set different tax rates for commercial and residential property, and setting the stage for a refund of millions of dollars of commercial property taxes collected under measure H. [9] [10]
In 2016, Measure B1 passed with 74% of Alameda voters voting yes. Measure B1 was an extension of the existing Measure A passed in 2011. In January 2017, a lawsuit was filed challenging the structure of the parcel tax. In April 2018, the Alameda County Superior Court entered a judgment upholding Measure B1. [11]
In 2024, voters passed Measure E, a parcel tax that effectively renews and combines Measure A1 and Measure B1. Measure E will begin collecting revenues in 2025. [12]
