The San Mateo-Foster City School District is asking voters to back a $498 million bond measure that would run for 30 years, with backers saying the money is needed to replace windowless classrooms and build housing for teachers and staff who can no longer afford to live where they work. The measure, known as Measure W, would cost property owners $29 per $100,000 of assessed value if it passes.
According to the San Mateo Daily Journal, the district says it has over $1 billion in identified capital improvements needed across its 22 sites, with $524 million described as immediate needs to address in the next five to 10 years. The district's own facilities master plan previously put the figure at over $700 million in identified capital improvements, a number that has shifted as assessments have been updated. District executive director of facilities and construction Ruffo said facility upgrade needs will remain and only become costlier over time.
Windowless Classrooms and Aging Buildings
Of the total measure, $84 million would go toward replacing windowless classrooms, per the Daily Journal's reporting. That work could mean tearing down and rebuilding buildings where windows cannot be added, or simply replacing windows in structures that remain otherwise sound. The district's own materials note that many classrooms were built 70 years ago for a different era of instruction and fail to meet modern educational and safety standards, according to San Mateo-Foster City School District.
If approved by voters, funding could also go toward modern skilled-trades and STEM classrooms and updated fire alarm and emergency communication systems, the district's funding page states. Bowditch Middle School improvements have already drawn on funds from both of the district's existing bond measures, Measure T and Measure X, the Daily Journal reports.
A Push for Staff Housing at the Old Knolls Campus
About one-fifth of the bond would go toward developing housing units for teachers and classified staff, per Trustee Gene Kim's account to the Daily Journal. The district would develop approximately 80 workforce housing units at the Knolls Campus, a site located near 42nd Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas that was formerly Knolls Elementary School and has been used for various district needs over the years.
Workforce housing would be one of the district's first projects pursued if the bond passes, using a design-build model district officials say could be completed within four years. The district's workforce-housing survey found that of 608 employees who responded, 96% said high housing costs pose a major challenge to recruitment and retention, the district reports. Since 2016, an average of about 100 employees have left the school district, and exit surveys found most departing employees could not afford to live in the area where they worked, according to the Daily Journal's reporting.
Proponents say the effort addresses a human-interest issue for the district, the Daily Journal notes.
Mixed Reactions and Lingering Doubts
Resident Thomas Morgan has pushed back, calling it expensive and criticizing the projects' operating expenses, according to the Daily Journal. Morgan argued the district should establish a sinking fund to accrue money over time for ongoing facility needs rather than relying on a bond, and he suggested the district work with a private or nonprofit developer on any housing project instead of maintaining complete ownership of the building.
Those doubts echo wider polling trouble. A district survey found roughly 57% of possible voters said they would approve the proposed measure, with consultants telling the Board of Trustees Aug. 28 that the results were lower than polling from past elections, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal. Only a slight majority of respondents said they would probably or definitely support a measure, the paper reported. Under state law, the bond would need support from 55% of those who vote on it to pass.
How the District's Existing Bonds Have Performed
San Mateo-Foster City voters already carry two bond measures on their tax bills. Measure T, a $409 million bond approved in 2020, levies $30 per $100,000 of assessed value through 2051. Measure X, a $148 million bond approved in 2015, levies $14.80 per $100,000 of assessed value and is slated to expire by 2044. Together, the two existing measures and the proposed Measure W would levy $73.80 per $100,000 of assessed property value, per the Daily Journal's figures.
Ruffo told the paper that roughly 75% of Measure T funds had already been spent and that Measure X funds had been spent, and that the district has saved some years off when the existing bonds were set to expire, with plans to keep looking for ways to pay the bonds down faster. Measure X funds have gone toward building and opening Beach Park Elementary School, turning Fiesta Gardens School into a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade campus, and revamping two multipurpose rooms, while Measure T has paid for four multipurpose rooms, turf fields, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning repairs and replacements. The district says every dollar from Measure T was spent on voter-approved projects, with all work completed on time and on budget.
Oversight Rules for Existing Bonds
The district's local funding page describes oversight and audit provisions for Measure T.
How San Mateo-Foster City Compares to Other Districts
A cityLAB study found that 61% of school district properties sit in areas where entry-level teachers face housing-affordability challenges, according to EdSource.
New teachers in San Mateo County spend an average of 46% of their income on housing, among the highest shares in the region, according to a UC Berkeley report cited by Berkeleyside. Nearby, Jefferson Union High School District opened a 122-unit educator-housing complex in 2022, with rents roughly 50% below market, per reporting from The San Francisco Standard. Berkeley Unified's own project, a six-story, 110-unit building estimated at $77.7 million and financed through a city bond, a state housing loan and federal tax credits, is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2027.
