CA voters approve Prop. 2 to repair aging schools

www.acsa.org

November 11, 2024

California school districts are poised to receive an influx of much-needed funds to repair and upgrade aging facilities after voters supported a statewide ballot measure in the Nov. 5 General Election.

With 57 percent of the vote, California voters have passed Proposition 2, a $10 billion investment to make sure students are safe and ready to learn. Prop. 2, which was supported by ACSA and a broad coalition of nearly 300 other groups and organizations, provides funding for vital projects to repair, upgrade and construct schools and community colleges by funding the K-12 School Facility Program.

“California public school students thrive when they have safe facilities and infrastructure that supports their learning and growth,” said ACSA Executive Director Edgar Zazueta. “We celebrate Prop. 2’s passage, knowing its importance to student achievement and well-being.”

The K-12 School Facility Program is a successful partnership between the state and local communities that has been in place since 1998. The ballot measure also includes updates to this program that will help disadvantaged school districts, such as low-wealth and small school districts that may need technical assistance and help with reaching targets for state matching funds.

More than 5.4 million voters supported Prop. 2, according to unofficial election results from the California Secretary of State’s website.

“The turnout is a direct reflection of our members having conversations up and down the state, and the work that ACSA has done to not only get this on the ballot but to get it passed,” said Iván Carrillo, ACSA’s senior director of State and Federal Governmental Relations, on a Nov. 6 episode of ACSA’s Legislative Lunch Break. “Even in counties that have historically been really averse to school bonds, we’re seeing much higher trends of support than usual.”

“It’s never about the letter or the party or even the candidates — for us it’s about those policies that are potentially going to impact kids.”

— Edgar Zazueta, ACSA Executive Director

During the Legislative Lunch Break, ACSA staff and others reviewed results from an election night in which voters returned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to the White House. Zazueta said that regardless of what party is elected, ACSA would continue to be driven by its mission to advocate on education policies that affect students.

“It’s never about the letter or the party or even the candidates — for us it’s about those policies that are potentially going to impact kids,” he said.

ACSA endorsed 20 candidates in state assembly and senate races, and most have won their races or are likely to win as of press time. One of those endorsements was for José Luis Solache in Assembly District 62. The former school board member and current mayor of Lynwood joined the Legislative Lunch Break to talk about his transition to state politics.

“I look forward to definitely being engaged in ed policy,” he said. “I’m someone that believes that education transforms communities, and so for me it’s a personal passion.”