The Saugus Union School District announced Wednesday that it is considering placing a school facilities measure on the November ballot.
The formal announcement is expected to take place at the governing board’s Tuesday meeting should a resolution ordering the placement of a bond measure on the ballot be approved by the board, according to a news release from the district.
“The purpose of this measure is to ensure that all of the schools in the Saugus Union School District provide safe, secure, accessible, and high-quality learning environments for the changing programs and facilities requirements determined for California schools,” the release states.
According to the release, the governing board has been receiving information, including engineering reports, architectural analysis and soil studies for six of its 16 school sites in the Santa Clarita Valley. That information was then relayed to the community through public forums, governing board meetings, school newsletters and school closure proceedings.
The release identified Rio Vista Elementary School, Skyblue Mesa Elementary School, Cedarcreek Elementary School and Rosedell Elementary School as being more than 50 years old and needing upgrades or rebuilds for current seismic safety. Emblem Academy was also identified as needing retrofitting improvements despite modernization of the site several years ago.
Santa Clarita Elementary was approved by the governing board in November to be closed as a school site, with seismic and earthquake needs listed as a contributing factor in that decision in the release.
“Earthquakes are always a threat in California, and buildings without modern infrastructures (i.e., masonry-only construction) do not meet the current building expectations,” the release states.
Members of the public can attend Tuesday’s meeting to provide public input on the proposed ballot measure. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the district’s administrative office, located at 24930 Avenue Stanford.
Those who cannot attend in person can join via Zoom using the link provided in the agenda that is scheduled to be posted online late Friday afternoon.
The agenda, which will include the presentations and documents that will be presented to the governing board on Tuesday, is scheduled to be posted at this link: tinyurl.com/e9mjp5en.
For more information, contact the office of Superintendent Colleen Hawkins at 661-294-5300 or email [email protected].
