Voters to decide on school bond

A $20 million school bond will go before voters Nov. 4 in the Plumas Lake School District, once one of the fastest growing in California but hit hard by the end of the housing boom in the state.

The bond is a try to achieve the master plan goal of a new middle school, acting superintendent Paul Carras said.

"The thing we need more than anything is to lock up some sites," Carras said.

Plumas Lake School District has lost enrollment since the end of the California real estate boom, but Carras said the community is still expected to add students should the housing market improves.

He said school district officials in the state often find themselves in a Catch-22 situation because they face criticism if schools are needed but not built, and criticism if schools are built but not needed until student enrollment increases.

The bond measure would require two-thirds voter approval to win passage.

School board member Merrilee Leinweber cast the lone vote against putting the bond before voters.

Leinweber said she supports the bond but questions whether the November vote is too soon to show citizens why the financing measure is needed.

"We won't have enough time to do the extensive community outreach and education necessary to pass this type of a bond, especially given the current state of our economy," the school board member said.

The bond would add an estimated $50 per $100,000 of assessed valuation in taxes to properties within the school district.

The district has three elementary schools — one of which is used as a middle school, Leinweber said.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ryan McCarthy at 749-4707 or rmccarthy@appealdemocrat.com.