SOS: Save Our Schools

Josie Kwak & Alena Rhoades • November 4. 2024

Whether perusing Nextdoor forums or observing neighborhood yard signs, one can clearly see the deepening political divisions among Palos Verdes households. One subject of contention in the upcoming 2024 election pertains to our very own school district, PVPUSD, and its efforts to pass a bond measure. Measure SOS, or “Save our Schools,” is a critical proposition to implement a $297.8 million bond through property taxes. This money would be allocated to renovate our school district’s failing infrastructure, costing property owners a yearly estimate of $29.49 per $100,000 of their home’s assessed value (LAist). Measure SOS should not be so divisive among our community — if voters value PVPUSD schools and their students, voting yes is a no-brainer.

Students and staff deserve to feel safe while attending classes and work. Not only is Peninsula’s PA system down, leaving the school with only rudimentary ways to contact students in emergencies, but our facilities are also deteriorating at a rapid rate. Although unsightly, it is not uncommon to see rusting pipes, cracked ceilings and mold-speckled bathroom stalls. Given the torrential downpours the hill has experienced in winter months, which has exacerbated existing water damage in buildings, janitors are left to mop up never-ending messes that should never have been a problem in the first place. In particular, Peninsula’s rapidly decaying infrastructure has become a defining feature of the school and a running joke among the student body. Band-aid solutions are made permanent: empty trash bins are placed under leaking ceiling tiles, raggedy sandbags absorb the water seeping from walls and staff are forced to rely on phone systems (which are consistently down) to hear drill announcements and inform their students. While the latter will need to be fixed regardless of bond passage, Peninsula’s failing PA system is only further proof of the school’s state of disrepair from aging and decrepit buildings.

Funding for facilities is nonnegotiable, and one can only imagine the repercussions if an earthquake or some other disaster were to hit our school. Infrastructure that is not seismically sound could be detrimental, especially considering that seismologists predict a 93% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake hitting Southern California in the next 30 years (California Residential Mitigation Program). Extensive cracks and crumbling facades can be found on numerous buildings in PVPUSD schools; how can these facilities be expected to withstand natural disasters? Schools are likewise unequipped to handle flooding, as water damage and mold are already prevalent from years of deterioration. Not to mention, while students will only be at the high school for a four year term, staff must endure poor and unsafe conditions for potential decades to come.

When families are looking to buy a new home, quality of education is a key prerequisite. PVPUSD students are known for their incredible academic performance and work ethic, demonstrated in our high rankings; PVPUSD was ranked sixth in a list of 300 school districts in California and ranked second place in the Los Angeles area, according to an October 2024 study by Niche — yet the quality of our facilities does not match our rankings in academics. The National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that each additional dollar spent on public schools can result in a $20 increase in home values. Similarly, economists have found that a 5% improvement in school test scores can lead to a 2.5% increase in home values (The New York Times). Homeowners have reaped the benefit of the district’s impressive reputation — and by proxy, the efforts of PVPUSD students — for decades, and now is the time to repay the favor.

Last year, delegates from both Palos Verdes and Peninsula High Schools visited the state capitol to advocate for facilities funding; this was the focus of last year’s annual “Capitol Convoy.” State legislators, including Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi and Senator Ben Allen, expressed sympathy for our district’s dearth of facilities funding, but advised PVPUSD to focus on passing a local bond. California is experiencing a budget shortfall, and the money that is allocated to school facilities won’t be going to us; it will be going to districts that have more designated high-need students as per the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) or schools that have met the eligibility for the School Facilities Program (SFP). Simply put, we cannot rely on the state to fix our facilities problems.

Measure SOS has become a needlessly divisive issue. While it’s understandable that residents feel overwhelmed by their taxes adding up, the condition of school facilities is not an area that can be neglected. If a bond isn’t passed now, it will eventually need to be at some point. Coming up on election day, voters are faced with a crucial question: what is worth more, an extra couple hundred dollars at the end of each year or the safety of our students and staff?