Final election results confirm that the Saugus Union School District Measure N suffered a remarkable defeat in the November election.
Remarkable? Yes! There were 35 school bonds on the ballot in Los Angeles County in November. Thirty-four were approved and only one was defeated. Saugus Measure N not only failed to achieve the 55% supermajority required for passage, it also failed to even get a majority of votes cast. The “No” vote was 28,746 (51%). The “Yes” vote was 27,397 (49%).
Compared to the 34 school/community college bonds that passed in Los Angeles County, the average “Yes” vote was 63%. Measure N fell six percentage points short for passage, and a whopping 14% short of the average “Yes” vote in Los Angeles County.
This devastating result should send a message of no confidence to the district leadership that proposed the bond measure, and the trustees who voted to place it on the ballot at an expense of $350,000.
It will be easy for the Saugus leadership to remain silent about this embarrassing defeat, but that will not be helpful for the district, the students and other stakeholders. The district leadership should carefully evaluate what went wrong and the steps that should be taken if and when another bond measure is proposed. Leadership must be open and honest about how they plan to prioritize future capital projects while Measure E (2014) funds are nearly depleted and Measure N funds will not be forthcoming.
Saugus, and other local districts (Sulphur Springs Union School District and the Newhall School District)are rumored to be planning bond measures in 2026. Leaders can learn valuable lessons from this experience. Among these: Start early and build local support, be specific in your project proposals, present costs honestly, do not max out the financials for borrowing or maximum taxpayer repayment rates. Finally, write an honest ballot question and don’t hide important information in the small print.
I am pleased that the voters defeated Measure N and hope that education leaders in the Santa Clarita Valley will learn an important lesson from the Saugus voters.
Steve Petzold
Former Santa Clarita resident
Douglas County, Georgia
