San Diego school bonds on November ballot as districts seek billions for campus upgrades

Voters across San Diego County will decide on nine school bond measures this November, with districts seeking millions — and in one case, billions — of dollars to fund school construction, facility repairs and campus improvements.

The proposals range from a $9 million bond for Julian Union High School District to a $3.5 billion measure for San Diego Unified School District. While several districts say the funding is critical to maintaining and modernizing their campuses, a local taxpayers association has raised concerns about one of the measures.

San Diego Unified School District is asking voters to approve Measure M, the largest school bond proposal on the ballot, totaling $3.5 billion.

School board President Richard Barrera said the funding would help the district continue improvements to aging school buildings, including "modernizing schools, you know, repairing the plumbing, re repairing the roofs."

Measure M would extend the district's existing tax rate of $32 per $100,000 in assessed property value for another 10 years.