A $358 million bond measure will be on the ballot for Arcadia voters on election day this year, approved by the Board of Trustees. The Arcadia Unified School District’s School Safety and Repair Measure, known as Measure AS, will be distributed throughout AUSD schools if it passes, and has a possibility of being matched by the state of California’s Proposition 2, which is also on the ballot.
Measure AS, the proposed measure that will rake in approximately $23 million annually, symbolizes Arcadia Unified School District’s (AUSD) goal of improving the safety and quality of their students’ learning environment. The measure, if approved, will impose $60 per $100,000 in property value, significantly increasing taxes for Arcadia property owners. With these funds, AUSD intends to renovate their schools and faculty buildings in a variety of ways: replacing roofs and plumbing, repairing classrooms, implementing better security and fire detection systems. The overarching goal of Measure AS is to collect $358 million in bonds, all of which will be channeled toward improving the education of Arcadia students.
And though the specifics of public school funding in the state of California have been largely disrupted by the California state budget crisis, the process for districts to receive funding is still currently based on student attendance. School districts are given a proportionate amount of funding to those attendance rates, meant for maintaining existing buildings and facilities. However, no funding is allocated to build new things. When a school gets to a point where they need to start replacing buildings and infrastructure, they must ask the community for a bond in a general election. According to AHS Principal Dr. Angie Dillman, the order of priority for how to spend the possible bond money is to replace the 30 year old HVAC systems in the classroom rows, roof replacements to prevent leaking, rebuilding the existing internet infrastructure that was first built in the 1980s, and other similar physical improvements.
Another point of concern for administration that may be addressed in the bond measure is safety on campus at AHS; more security cameras are also a priority for administration, with issues like stolen property from athletes and an incident with a truck pulling into the school parking lot and stealing all of the bikes from the bike rack.
Additionally, new locker room facilities are planned for both the boys and girls for physical education, whether or not the bond passes. A small amount of money still remains from the district’s last bond, 17 years ago, that built the A-building, S-building, and Performing Arts Center (PAC), due to some of it being reinvested and generating interest. Funding leftover from that bond will be used to replace the locker room buildings on either side of the North Gym, both original to the school from 1952.
“The thing that I’m most excited about the new locker rooms and weight rooms is it would also provide dedicated team rooms for every single athletic team, every team would have their own locker room, their own place to secure their items, their own place to change and. And what I’m even more excited about is that it would mean equal facilities for every boys and girls sport,” said Principal Dillman.
Besides the improvements to air conditioning and internet systems, as well as these locker room and security improvements, AUSD has also proposed extensive new sports, CTE, and performing arts facilities. These include new turf sports fields to eliminate the need for watering, new team rooms for all boys and girls sports teams, a new annex to the PAC to meet the requirements from a burgeoning stagecraft program, an update to the culinary arts classroom, and a new engineering lab.
AHS parent Wen Qi, an active community member and officer of the Arcadia Chinese Parents Booster Club, expressed vehement support for the measure.
“The previous measure already helped AUSD become one of the best school districts in LA. Measure AS funds will be used exclusively for facility improvements to create a better learning environment for students,” said Qi.
Qi’s son graduated from AHS in 2021, and her daughter is a current senior. Both have been cross country and track athletes with her daughter, Reena Hsieh, winning the Pacific League multiple times in cross country and in multiple track events. The Chinese Parents Booster Club is also highly involved with AHS athletics in and of itself, donating many thousands of dollars in grants to individual teams throughout the years.
“The AHS weight room was built over 30 years ago without air conditioning. This outdated facility limited athletic teams in using it for their regular training. With the new team room and weight room, AHS athletic teams can become significantly stronger,” added Qi. “Additionally, the new gym locker room will benefit many students by providing better facilities for storing their belongings. Overall, Measure AS funding will make AHS a more competitive school with top resources.”
Many current AHS students are also in support of the bond measure; members of the student body helped organize opportunities for phone banking in favor of Measure AS, and others have expressed general support for the specific provisions of the possible funding. One student, senior Evelyn Tsoi, is in favor of the bond, despite knowing she will graduate before any of the proposed improvements are implemented.
“Measure AS is an integral step to further supporting the health and safety of Arcadia students not just now, but for generations to come,” said Tsoi. “I think it’s a really positive thing for Arcadia.”
Aside from upgrades like athletic, performing arts, and CTE facilities, Measure AS has a lot of ambitious proposals that AHS administration has deemed essential. Again, the last bond measure was 17 years ago, and left systems like the central air conditioning and internet to this next measure.
Principal Dillman and AUSD administration already have renderings and plans for these prospective improvements. Though they are not yet available to the public, the images and plans are extensive, carefully designed to match existing buildings and fit into available space on campus. The funding for improvements will have to be distributed among AUSD schools if the bond is passed, so nothing is finalized for the high school quite yet, as plans for new gyms at Foothills Middle School and First Avenue Middle School are in the works too.
If the bond passes construction will take place over the next several years, utilizing portables if necessary. According to Principal Dillman, current elementary schoolers will likely see the improvements fully completed.
“We spent a long time getting input. Like, there was a year-long process last year of gathering input about the needs of the school. And this is what the needs were from students, parents, staff, and so we were able to work on these plans… I’m very hopeful.”
