The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District’s $321 million bond measure remains short of the 55% threshold required for passage, Bay City News reported via SFGATE. KQED’s Associated Press tally, updated at 9:59 p.m. PT on Nov. 9, showed 11,548 yes votes, or 54.1%, to 9,781 no, or 45.8%, in the Santa Clara County count. The results remain unofficial.
Why it matters: Bay City News said Measure N would raise about $23 million a year for Los Gatos High School and Saratoga High School, which together enroll about 3,000 students. The bonds would be repaid through a property tax of $30 per $100,000 of assessed value and would cost about $690 million to repay, including interest, the report said. The district spans Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
Supporters named in the report include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and former Los Gatos Mayor Sandy Decker, who signed the ballot argument in favor and said the money was needed for modern facilities and safety and infrastructure work. The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association argued that interest costs were too high and that a 2014 bond had already promised to fix some of the same problems, including leaky roofs, the report said.
Bay City News said early unofficial returns shortly after polls closed showed 53.68% yes, already shy of 55%, and noted that mail ballots postmarked by Election Day could be counted if received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 10. The later KQED tally, 54.1% yes, is still below the threshold and is unofficial until certification.