As California鈥檚 fund to fix crumbling schools dwindles to nothing, lawmakers are negotiating behind the scenes to craft a ballot measure that would be the state鈥檚 largest school construction bond in decades.
But some beleaguered school superintendents say the money will not be nearly enough to fix all the dry rot, leaky roofs and broken air conditioners in the state鈥檚 thousands of school buildings. And it won鈥檛 change a system that they say favors wealthy, urban, left-leaning areas that can easily pass local bond measures to make needed repairs.
鈥淭he big question is, why can鈥檛 our kids have school buildings that are safe and as nice as other kids鈥 schools, just a few miles away?鈥 said Helio Brasil, superintendent of Keyes Union School District, a rural TK-8 district in a low-income area south of Modesto. 鈥淭his school is in such bad shape it can feel like a jail. 鈥 I鈥檓 speaking up about this because I feel the system needs to be fixed. I don鈥檛 want the next generation of students to have to experience this.鈥
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