Facilities bond will fund crucial upgrades and repairs
 for AUSD campuses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Issued By:   
Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi (510) 337-7060 and
Board President Jennifer Williams (510) 337-7187           
 
Alameda, California - July 6, 2022 -  Measure B, a $298 million facilities bond that will fund much-needed repairs and upgrades to AUSD schools, was approved by 56.33% of Alameda voters who participated in the June 7 primary, final results show.

The bond measure needed 55% of the votes to pass. Some early tallies showed the measure trailing, but as the Alameda County Registrar of Voters continued to count and release results over the last several weeks, the measure has pulled ahead. The Registrar of Voters is expected to certify the results tomorrow, July 7.

The revenue will be used to fund basic upgrades, including:
 

• Modernizing classrooms and science labs at the Lincoln and Wood Middle Schools
• Building new gymnasiums at Lincoln, Wood, and Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School
• Upgrading athletic facilities at Alameda High School and Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School, including fields, tracks, and the Emma Hood Pool.
• Replacing the main classroom building at Otis Elementary School 
• Improving both Kofman Auditorium and the Little Theater at Alameda High School, as well as performance spaces at Encinal
• Modernizing classrooms in the Industrial Building and West Wing at Alameda High School
• Replacing out-of-date plumbing to save water and improve water quality, and outdated heating/cooling systems for energy efficiency and safe air quality
• Making essential upgrades to earthquake safety and school security 

Background: 2014 Facilities Master Plan
In 2014, AUSD released a comprehensive Facilities Master Plan. Based on comprehensive professional assessments of AUSD’s facilities, as well as extensive stakeholder engagement, the plan detailed more than $590 million in repairs and upgrades needed across the school district.

The Measure I bond, which was passed in 2014, funded $179.5 million of those upgrades including an award-winning restoration of Historic Alameda High School; a radical transformation of the Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School campus; technology and infrastructure upgrades at elementary campuses; security fencing at many schools; new, more secure school offices at Edison Elementary, Love Elementary, and Maya Lin School; a music room at Lincoln Middle School; and a new classroom building for Bay Farm School, construction of which begins this summer.  

Many more upgrades, repairs, and modernizations identified in the Facilities Master Plan were not able to be completed under Measure I, however. In 2021, after meeting with school principals and communities, AUSD staff and the district architects began developing a list of priorities for Phase II of the Facilities Program. These projects will focus primarily on AUSD’s middle schools.

Modern Classrooms, Updated Infrastructure
“Research shows that the  environments in which our students learn greatly influence their experiences and outcomes,” says Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi. “The 2014 Measure I bond program made it possible for us to provide modern classrooms at our high schools and updated infrastructure at our elementary schools. I am incredibly excited to see how Measure B will now allow us to transform our middle schools, athletic facilities, and performance spaces, too.”

The  full list of projects, as well as more background on AUSD’s Facilities Master Plan, is included in this January 25 presentation to the Board of Education.
 
“We are deeply grateful to the Alameda community for approving this measure,” says Board President Jennifer Williams. “The state currently  provides no funding for facilities for school districts, which means districts have to turn to their local communities to fund even basic repairs and upgrades, never mind constructing new buildings. AUSD students and staff deserve safe, modern, effective learning environments. Our community’s continued support enables us to provide that.”
 
 Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) serves about 9000 students in Alameda, California, an island community in the San Francisco Bay Area.  For more information, please visit the AUSD website, follow @AUSDNews on Twitter, or subscribe to our email communications. Questions? Contact Susan Davis, Senior Manager, Community Affairs, at sdavis@alamedaunified.org.