Bond For New Foster City Elementary School Will Go To Voters

In an effort to handle a projected future enrollment hike, Foster City residents will be asked in November to pass a $25 million bond to build a fourth elementary school.

The San Mateo-Foster City School District Board Of Trustees last night voted 4-0-1, with Trustee Ellen Mallory Ulrich absent, to send the bond to voters in Foster City for approval.

The bond could cost Foster City residents about $20 per $100,000 of their appraised home values. The measure will require 55-percent approval from voters in order to pass.

Should voters go on to approve the bond, the revenue would be used exclusively used to build the school and equip it with furnishings. Money remaining from the district's $175 million Measure L bond, which was passed in 2008, will be used to purchase the property where it will be built.

Language approved for the new bond commits $12.5 million from Measure L toward property purchase cost.

The bond is necessary to build a fourth school because the city's current facilities are operating near capacity, and more students are on their way, according to a district report.

By the 2013-2014 school year, about 545 new students are expected to attend city schools, which is 16% growth since the 2005-2006 school year, according to a district report.

The board's approval of the measure last night culminated months worth of discussion and process leading up to their vote.

Some trustees had earlier expressed concerns regarding splitting district voters in an effort to get the bond past exclusively in Foster City, and the precedent that may set going forward.

Most vocal in her concern to that regard was Trustee Lory Lorimer Lawson, who said last night that once a majority of the board voted to move forward with the decision to split the district, she was willing to set aside her concerns and support the measure.

Trustee Julie Chan said that despite some of the concerns addressed leading to the approval, she was certain the district was moving in the right direction.

Chan, who is a Foster City resident, claimed a majority of the residents she had spoken with seem to support the bond measure and do not dispute the need for a fourth elementary in the city.

She said that she could probably count on one hand the amount of people she had met who had opposed the bond.

"I'm satisfied we are going the right course," said Chan, who will likely help lead the charge locally to build support prior to the election.

More than 20 Foster City residents attended a board meeting in February to voice their support for the bond measure, including representatives from community groups such as the Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs.

"I think we will all be proud of the result if we can all move forward and get it built," said Board President Mark Hudak.

Hudak earlier in the meeting announced that he would not run for re-election to the board during the fall. He attributed his decision to increasing responsibilities at work, and a changing personal life.

Hudak is an attorney at a firm in Burlingame, as well as the Assistant City Attorney for the town of Hillsborough.

The meeting also marked the first of its kind for newly selected Superintendent Cynthia Simms. She previously served as the interim superintendent of the Los Gatos Union School District. Simms replaces the recently retired Pendery Clark, who served as the district's superintendent for 10 years.

Simms also welcomed new Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Donna Lewis to the district last night. Lewis replaces Joan Rosas, who joined the County Office of Education. Lewis served previously as the Director of Personnel Services in the Cambrian School District in San Jose.