Valley voters decide on millions in local school bonds

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) - Central Valley voters decided on millions of dollars in school bonds Tuesday, greenlighting many of them based on initial results.

Measure H in Fresno is poised to pass. It allows the Fresno Unified School District to take out a $500 million bond for facilities and infrastructure.

Interim Superintendent Misty Her tells Action News Measure H will help dozens of schools.

"I would say 90 percent of the money is going to go towards fixing unsatisfactory facilities," Her said.

Her says Measure H is the first time Fresno Unified has created a priority list for a bond, telling voters where their dollars would go and when.

"It's going to go toward our most unsatisfactory schools first, then our poor schools, then our schools that are rated fair, and so on," she said.

However, voters appear to oppose Measure Q, the State Center Community College District's request for nearly $700 million, which was the biggest local school bond on the November ballot.

Trustee Danielle Parra is hopeful it will pass as more votes come in. She says the money is needed to expand workforce development programs.

"I think that we need to keep the future of the Central Valley in mind," Parra said.

"This is going directly to facilities and student success. We need to keep that in mind. It's for our future economy, our future workforce."

In Clovis, concerns over taxes could sink Measure A.

Clovis Unified asked for $400 million to finish Clovis South High School and upgrade facilities.

It is a district where schools are usually top-of-mind for residents, but voters appear split.

In a statement, Superintendent Corrine Folmer said, in part:

"We are resilient, and if Measure A does not pass, we will regroup and develop our action plan to move forward using a process that will continue to include input from our educational team, families and the community."