Report Says AUHSD Facilities Need $1.2 BILLION In Repairs

Tonight the Anaheim Union High School District will consider a report claiming district facilities need $1.2 billion – yes, billion — in improvements.

According to the OC Register:

More than $1.2 billion in safety and classroom upgrades are needed at 19 campuses in the Anaheim Union High School District over the next decade, according to a report that will be considered Thursday by the district’s board of trustees.

If approved, the board’s next step is to decide, on July 10, whether to place a $249 million bond measure onto the November ballot to partially pay for those improvements in a district serving 32,000-plus students from portions of Anaheim, Cypress, Buena Park, La Palma and Stanton.

“We’re looking at basic renovations to keep our students safe, along with giving them classroom tools and modern classrooms so that we can provide them a 21st-century education,” said Al Jabbar, an Anaheim Union board member.

Jabbar is an appointed trustee and OCEA board member seeking election in his own right this November. While he apparently believes district taxpayers should be required to pony up for a $249 million bond, he doesn’t believe AUHSD students should be required to have at least a 2.0 GPA in order to graduate – as he told the teachers union earlier this month:

Al was also asked his opinion regarding reinstating the minimum 2.0 grade point average for graduation. Al discussed how improving college and career readiness for all students is essential and that having a diploma keeps students’ options open. He does not support a return to that requirement and pointed out that it is an extremely rare requirement.

The district terribly mismanaged of the last AUHSD school bond (approved more than a decade ago), and its new superintendent is a liberal politico who has never run a school site, let alone a large school district. Asking AUHSD voters to approve another bond may be a tall order.