The San Francisco Unified School District says it will need $1.7 billion to repair and renovate its buildings over the next five years.
The estimate is based on an assessment of SFUSD’s 148 locations, which was detailed Tuesday at an Education Committee meeting. The consultants’ report lays the groundwork for a new facility master plan and eventually a bond operation to fund that plan.
To meet that need, the district could ask San Francisco voters to approve a $1 billion bond issue in 2023 or 2024 — roughly the district’s operating budget.
The last issue approved for SFUSD facilities in 2016 was $744 million.
“We were bond rich and lacking in sustenance,” said Dawn Kamalanathan, SFUSD’s head of investments. “Without maintenance money to keep this going, there will be deterioration. Underinvestment in the capital structure is a nationwide, if not a national problem.”
Annuity funds cannot be used for operational expenses, including maintenance. Voters across the country routinely approve measures that allow governments to sell bonds to raise money for a cause, such as a school, over time.
According to the district’s presentation Tuesday, electrical systems made up nearly $500 million of the estimated cost and HVAC systems made up a little less than $400 million. Of the total estimated cost, $340,000 was identified as necessary to address life safety risks.
Based on the facility’s Health Index scores, the consultants concluded that the Rooftop Pre-Kindergarten-8 School’s Mayeda campus has deficient buildings and is in need of $14 million in upgrades.
Schools thought to have poor facilities include Mission High, which needs an estimated $140 million, and Balboa High, which needs an estimated $156 million.
The facilities of the John McLaren Early Education School, the Garfield Elementary School and the Dr. Charles Drew College Preparatory Academy, among others, were in excellent condition.
The district must also consider the impact of moving to a universal transitional kindergarten and a new elementary school student allocation system.
SFUSD is issuing the remainder of its 2016 bond issue on a new Mission Bay elementary school, long-planned renovations to the Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School, and automated “Columbine” locks for school security. Projects to modernize 23 of its schools were shelved from the 2016 bond.
The county’s Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, for which the board admitted five members Tuesday over some objections, has raised questions about transparency over where some funds have gone. This includes using bond funds to cover legal costs related to a controversial mural at George Washington High School.
Committee Chair Rex Ridgeway recommended allowing the group to report monthly to the Board of Education.
“These are real dollars being spent today,” Ridgeway told the board on Tuesday. “We as a school need transparency.”
As 2023 begins, school officials anticipate learning more about the endowment plan and school assignment zones to shape their next bond. If local elections are moved to even-numbered years under Proposition M on the November ballot, the district would have to wait until March or November 2024 to put a new bond measure on the ballot.
“This,” said Superintendent Matt Wayne, “is an important conversation in laying the groundwork for our facility master plan to be implemented next year.”
