$25 Billion in
Two New School Bond Measures to Incorporate Smart-Growth,
Joint-Use Principles.
State
lawmakers intend to ask voters in the next two statewide elections to authorize
tens of billions of dollars in school bond construction and modernization
projects.
Voter
approval may usher in a new era of state-financed joint-use
schools: a school library combined with a community
library, playgrounds which become parks
after school hours, or school-based community clinics for students and their
families.
Ideas
and information
flowed freely at the “Environmental Livability &
Smart Schools” forum at the state Capitol on Feb. 26, led by the
New Schools Better Neighborhoods project and California Policy
Forum members.
Co-sponsors of the one-day event were the Legislative Smart
Growth Caucus, the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Office of the State Architect. David Abel,
conference organizer, says "NSBN invites all districts and
regions from across the state to get involved in advancing the
schools as centers of community movement."
Some
participants wonder whether even the proposed $25 Billion in new
bonds (AB16) will be enough to stem the onslaught of
“Sixty percent of California
schools are 30 years old or older. We need to build a classroom
every four hours just to keep pace. We need our schools to look
like our malls and our shopping centers.”