I’m not sure the best way to sell a new bond measure to the B’game taxpayers is highlighting the Big Number, but that was the approach taken in official comments for the DJ article. Back in April, the decision to jump from $89M to $100M was seen as not having any red or yellow flags as we noted here. Phrasing it as $16 per $100K of assessed property value makes it seem small, but these days of “affordability” concerns and whatever else lands on the November ballot create uncertainty. Recent buyers in particular can do the math since assessed value equals purchase price, e.g. a recent $2.5M purchase would come with a $400/year school tax–small compared to the $25K property tax but it all adds up. The DJ notes

The Burlingame School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved placing a $100 million bond measure on Nov. 3 ballots at its board meeting June 9. Some of the school sites in the district are over 100 years old, Superintendent Marla Silversmith said, and one trustee coined a pitch for the bond as the “$100 million bond for the 100-year-old schools,” Silversmith said.

Improvements included on a project list further detail the modernization that would take place, the replacement of antiquated portable classrooms with permanent facilities, the installment of energy efficient systems and infrastructure, improving school site parking and traffic circulation, and more.

This as-yet-unnamed General Obligation bond for CapEx is separate from Measure GG passed in November 2024. That is an 8-year parcel tax that provides approximately $3.6 million annually exclusively for academic programs, smaller class sizes, and teacher retention.

You probably already got the mail piece and should expect at least a couple more in the next five and a half months. The primary we just had did not bode well for new taxes and it’s hard to see how that will change in a couple of months.