League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Measure BB School Improvement Bonds Bellflower Unified School District School Bonds - 55% Approval Required Pass: 16,469 / 72.79% Yes votes ...... 6,155 / 27.21% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure BB

Arguments Against Measure BB

Bellflower's local public schools are a critical community asset and should be our number one priority. From higher achieving students to safer neighborhoods to improved housing values, investing in our schools makes a difference. While our facilities have been well maintained over the years, many of our schools were built over 68 years ago. Our classrooms and schools require major upgrades and improvements to meet today's technological, safety and educational standards. Your Yes vote on Measure BB will create a lasting, positive impact on the quality of our schools and neighborhoods and the values of our homes while still protecting taxpayers. Here's how: Measure BB will improve our children's classrooms and schools by: Expanding District vocational education programs/facilities including welding, automotive technology, medical and health technology, and construction trades. Upgrading classrooms with up-to-date computers and technology. Repairing aging school classrooms /facilities throughout the District. Replacing outdated heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. Upgrading and improving physical education facilities and programs. Making restrooms and classrooms handicap accessible. Repairing and replacing leaky roofs. Measure BB makes financial sense and has taxpayer protections: Iron-clad restrictions that no funds can be spent on administrative salaries, benefits or pensions. Annual review by an independent citizens' oversight committee of all expenditures. Legally required annual audits of all spending. Interest rates are at historic lows. By borrowing at these lower rates, taxpayers will save millions of dollars in interest. By law, Measure BB funds MUST be used for our children's schools and CANNOT BE TAKEN AWAY BY THE STATE AND SPENT ELSEWHERE! Measure BB will improve our children's education, help maintain housing values, stimulate our local economy, and save taxpayers millions of dollars in interest. Please join us by voting Yes on Measure BB! DAWN M. LEWIS Past Bellflower Council PTA President RYAN J. VERWYS Community AdvocatelKiwanis Member RICHARD P. KEMPPAINEN Retired Bellflower Unified Educator KIRK J.REAL Retired Educator, Bellflower Unified School District YOLANDA MELENDEZ Current Bellflower Council PTA President Rebuttal to Arguments For Don't be misled by the Argument in Favor of the LARGEST Tax Hike in the history of Bellflower Unified School District. -- Measure BB will indebt OUR COMMUNITY over $160 Million Dollars for 30 years, after paying interest and principal costs. --Senior Citizens can't request a tax waiver exemption. - No money from Bellflower Unified School District's Tax Hike Measure will be used to hire or keep teachers, or used to enhance educational or extracurricular programs. -If Bellflower Unified School District wants to protect OUR STUDENT'S CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOLS, why is it using a Facility Plan created in 1995 to determine today's renovation needs? Why didn't the District update this plan? --Under California Education Code Section 15278 - 15282, Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee members are hand-picked by Bellflower Unified School District and have ABSOLUTELY NO legal authority to halt a single mismanaged project. - A San Francisco financial advisor will get $35,000 in Bellflower Unified School District funds for pre-election services as OUR TEACHERS are laid off and Adult Education Programs are cut. --Proponents will spend over $70,000.00 on "warm and fuzzy" glossy political mailers trying to pass the LARGEST Tax Hike in Bellflower Unified School District's history. Why can't this money be invested in OUR STUDENTS? The State of California mandates Bellflower Unified School District earmark 2% of its budget for maintenance at OUR SCHOOLS. Where has this money been spent over the past 40 years? Join senior citizens, teachers, parents, community leaders, and hard-working residents and vote NO on Measure BB...the Largest Tax Hike in Bellflower Unified School District's history. Visit http://www.MeasureBBisBad4Families.com MARK PROVENCE Teacher DANIEL RUIZ Resident GUY JOHNSON Resident & Teacher JOHN PRIEN Bellflower Resident KATHERINE A. ELLIOTT Lakewood Resident

The Bellflower Unified School District's Tax Hike Measure WILL NOT provide funding to keep or hire even one classroom teacher. The District's Tax Hike Measure WILL NOT provide funding to save ANY educational or extracurricular programs; such as music, or sports. If voters want to provide funding for teachers or school programs, they can consider supporting Proposition 38, the PTA-endorsed Molly Munger initiative on the November ballot. Proposition 38 will tax voters for the next 10 years. Bellflower Unified School District's Tax Hike Measure will tax residents for the next 30 years, yet not one dollar will be used to pay teachers. School districts throughout California generally plan 1 to 2 years in advance for the type of Tax Hike Measure Bellflower Unified School District has proposed. The District never conducted a single "Town Hall" meeting seeking input from parents or the community. Prudent school districts throughout California consult with architects and construction professionals BEFORE promoting this type of Tax Hike Measure to develop a Master Facility Plan detailing a District's facility needs. Bellflower Unified School District administrators didn't create a detailed plan to spend your tax dollars. Burdensome Taxes A large number of tax hike ballot measures await voters in November. Cerritos Community College District proposes a $350,000,000.00 tax hike. The City of Bellflower wants an additional $1,500,000.00 EVERY YEAR with its proposed November tax hike. Governor Brown has his own $30,000,000,000.00+ tax hike initiative. Where will it stop? The combined unemployment rate in Bellflower and Lakewood is reaching 10%. Some hard-working families in the district live paycheck-to-paycheck and find it more expensive to provide health care insurance for their children. Sometimes, parents must choose between paying rent, or doctor visits for their children. The Bellflower Unified School District Tax Hike Measure will not make this decision any easier. Join senior citizens, parents, community leaders, teachers and hard-working residents and vote NO on Measure BB! MARK PROVENCE Teacher DANIEL RUIZ Resident GUY JOHNSON Teacher & Resident JOHN PRIEN Bellflower Resident KATHERINE A. ELLIOTT Lakewood Resident Rebuttal to Arguments Against Do not be misled by the argument against Measure BB. Bellflower students will receive all of the benefits from Measure BB because 100% of the funds will go to improving OUR STUDENT'S CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOLS. Here are the facts on Measure BB: By law, Measure BB funds must be used for OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS and cannot be taken away by the State and spent elsewhere. This guarantees that all funds will stay in OUR COMMUNITY to benefit our students. An independent citizens' oversight committee will be legally required to ensure that all Measure BB funds are spent as promised to the voters. No funds can be spent on administrative salaries, benefits or pensions. Interest rates are at a historic low. By borrowing at these lower rates, taxpayers will be able to save millions of dollars in interest costs. A good education is priceless. Measure BB is affordable and will be less than $4.50 per $100,000 of assessed valuation a month. Our children are the leaders of tomorrow and they need our support. If we want them to succeed, we must invest in OUR SCHOOLS. But the benefits of strong public schools go beyond just education. Strong schools help protect housing values, create a stronger local economy and lead to safer neighborhoods. Remember, these are OUR COMMUNITY'S SCHOOLS. They benefit everyone and are a resource that we must protect. Please join us and vote YES on Measure BB! DAVID S. LEWIS Bellflower Resident, Engineering Mgr. BILL ST. MARIE Past Board Member Bellflower USD SUSAN BERHOW Bellflower Resident 40 years EDITH L. MC CONNELL Bellflower Resident 40 yrs. RICHARD P. KEMPPAINEN Retired Bellflower Unified Educator

Tax Rate Statement from MARCY DELGADO, Associate Superintendent, Business Services, Bellflower Unified School District

An election will be held in Bellflower Unified School District (the "District") on November 6, 2012 to authorize the sale of $79,000,000 in general obligation bonds. The following information is submitted in compliance with Sections 9400-9404 of the California Elections Code. 1. The best estimate of the tax rate that would be required to fund this bond issue during the first fiscal year after the sale of the first series of bonds, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $.05519 per $100 ($55.19 per $100,000) of assessed valuation in fiscal year 2013-14. 2. The best estimate of the tax rate that would be required to fund this bond issue during the first fiscal year after the sale of the last series of bonds, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing of this statement, is $.05519 per $100 ($55.19 per $100,000) of assessed valuation in fiscal year 2017-18. 3. The best estimate of the highest tax rate that would be required to fund this bond issue, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing this statement, is $.05519 per $100 ($55.19 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. 4. The best estimate of the average tax rate that would be required to fund this bond issue, based on estimated assessed valuations available at the time of filing this statement, is $.05185 per $100 ($51.85 per $100,000) of assessed valuation. These estimates are based on projections derived from information obtained from official sources. The actual tax rates and the years in which they will apply may vary depending on the timing of bond sales, the amount of bonds sold at each sale and actual increases in assessed valuations. The timing of the bond sales and the amount of bonds sold at any given time will be determined by the needs of the District. Actual assessed valuations will depend upon the amount and value of taxable property within the District as determined in the assessment and the equalization process. Dated August 1, 2012