Bond Program FAQs

General obligation (G.O.) bonds fund facilities improvement projects, such as the renovation of existing school facilities and classrooms, as well as new school and classroom construction. Voters must approve a ballot measure to authorize the school district to sell bonds to pay for necessary renovations and upgrades. Bonds are sold and then repaid over a multi-year period. Voters agree to property based taxes to fund the bond repayment. 

Local general obligation bonds are the primary financing tool used by California school districts to construct and improve school facilities. Most California school district general operating budgets – including SFUSD’s – do not have sufficient funds to pay for major facilities improvements, which include everything from seismic upgrades, ADA accessibility, and  technology infrastructure, to core building functions like bathrooms, heating and cooling systems, and school kitchens. 

Many of SFUSD’s schools are very old. They require extensive repairs and upgrades and were built in a different era of education. Although some classrooms and facilities were updated with past bond measures, many more need repairs.

At least 55% of voters must approve a bond measure on a ballot. Proposition 39 was passed in the 2000 California general election, which lowered the threshold necessary to approve local school bond measures from 2/3 to 55%. Proposition 39 limits the amount of property tax a bond could impose on voters to $60 per $100,000. SFUSD has only placed bonds on the ballot that meet Proposition 39 criteria. 

San Francisco voters have entrusted SFUSD with four prior bond programs, in 2003, 2006, 2011, and 2016. 

The 2003 and 2006 bonds focused on accessibility improvements consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). With funds from the 2011 and 2016 Bonds, SFUSD has renovated over 3 million square feet of school buildings, improved 1.3 million square feet at play yards, completed 31 green school gardens, and removed portable classrooms that were not serving our students. The Bond has also delivered over 100 NEW classrooms, 43 renovated kitchens and cafeteria dining spaces, 42 library renovations, and two completely new schools (Willie Brown and Mission Bay).

Modernization projects occur in phases.  The following are the phases that typically make up the the process.

1.  Assembling the project team: Select SFUSD project manager, Architect, and others to help facilitate the process

2.  Assessment phase: Gather information and feedback from many stakeholders, assess the existing conditions to develop a scope of work, and estimate the cost. Refine scope and budget as needed.

3.  Design phase: The architect leads a team to develop the design for the school based on the scope of work and submits the plan to the Division of the State Architect (DSA) for approval. There are 3 sub-phases: 

1. Schematic Design:  create a concept design from the scope of work
2. Design Development:  refine the design with more details and drawings
3. Construction Documents:  prepare complete package, including all details and documents for permit approval

4.  Bidding + Construction phase: The District advertises a bid package and a construction company is hired to perform the work.

5.  Build the project!

Investors who buy District-issued bonds are paid back, with interest, using funds collected through property taxes. SFUSD has always managed its bond debt responsibly, paying off its debts ahead of schedule.

Since 2003, SFUSD school bonds have added about $40 per $100,000 in property taxes to San Francisco properties. The proposed 2024 Bond would not raise this amount. 

SFUSD consistently applies for funding from the CA State Facility Program (SFP), which is funded largely by State school bond measures. SFP grants require local matching funds, Local voter-approved bond measures help SFUSD to qualify for state matching funds that would otherwise not be available to our schools. Since 2011, SFUSD has been eligible for about $225 million in state funds through past bond measures that were passed by voters. 

Additional sources of funding help the District to better maintain SFUSD schools. Recent partnerships with the SFPUC and CalFire are providing additional funds to improve schoolyards and outdoor learning for SFUSD students. SFUSD is committed to identifying and exploring new opportunities at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as through public-private partnerships, to strengthen the District’s facilities improvements.

Two major factors play into determining the amount of authorization to place before voters in a bond measure. 1) Pacing of expenditure. The District bond program leadership analyzes past spending and construction market trends to determine what the cash flow requirements are to sustain the capital program. This annual expenditure, combined with the anticipated term of the bond, inform the needed bond measure authorization. 2) Impact to taxpayers and general appetite of taxpayers to support additional authorization. The District polls likely voters to understand how willing the public may be to support the District’s capital needs on the ballot. Importantly, the District cannot sell bonds without voter authorization. 

Bond proceeds are restricted funds, meaning they can be spent only on eligible capital activities. The District’s operating activities cannot be funded by Bond proceeds. SFUSD’s facilities department’s general fund budget is approximately $6 million per year to address building maintenance and improvements, which comes from the District’s annual operating budget. In comparison, the Bond Program invests more than $100 million per year, on average, in district buildings. 

In previous bonds (2003, 2006, 2011, and 2016), the Bond measure resolution included a list of specific projects and school sites to prioritize for bond funding. In 2003 and 2006, projects focused on ADA accessibility and seismic upgrades. In 2011 and 2016, the Bond Program began to include more comprehensive renovation work in addition to accessibility and seismic safety, extending to technology and kitchen upgrades, as well as classrooms and core system functions. 

In 2011 and 2016, the project lists were written as general scopes of work that were eligible for funding. These school sites were selected based on the prior Facilities administration’s in depth knowledge of SFUSD campus conditions. In 2011 and 2016, 44 SFUSD school sites were modernized. 

The 2016 bond measure approved by voters included a $100 million allocation towards an SFUSD Arts Center and new home for Ruth Asawa School of the Arts at 135 Van Ness Avenue. The Bond program initiated a Project Assessment for the project, and determined that the full cost to complete the project would be $400 million. Given the serious facility needs across the District in other school facilities and lack of funds to complete the 135 Arts project budget, the Board of Education approved reallocation of these funds in 2021. The reallocated funds paid for schoolyard improvements, security upgrades, additional funding for Mission Bay School, dedicated funding for modernization in the southeast sector of the City, and provided a seed budget for the Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School modernization.

The 2016 Bond included a list of sites and project scopes. This list was intentionally longer than the District administration thought feasible with the bond authorization included in the measure. There are many factors that impact construction costs for Bond projects: changes in the costs of materials, labor shortages, and supply chain delays are some examples. If construction costs come in lower than expected, the District would have greater flexibility to work at more school sites if the list of eligible sites is longer. In the 2016 program, construction costs rose rapidly, which meant that the District could complete fewer projects than originally envisioned, and that several schools included in the bond measure resolution did not receive investments.

The Mission Bay School will provide access to an elementary school in a high-growth area of the city that currently has no public school in the neighborhood. The project realizes the vision of the 1998 redevelopment plan that donated land for a public school, given that 6,000+ housing units would be built in this previously industrial area.

The G.O. bond provides funds to continue critical repairs and upgrades to school facilities. As the Facilities Condition Index shows, SFUSD schools need many repairs, with many sites in poor condition. These well-loved and well-used sites serve almost 50,000 students every day,  but they were built a long time ago. The new bond is needed to keep working to update the District’s aging buildings. It will invest in essential safety upgrades, core functions like heating, electric, and plumbing, new technology systems, and classrooms for 21st century learning. In addition, the bond will fund the creation of a Food Hub, to greatly improve food security and provide SFUSD students with access to fresher and healthier meals.

Improvements to San Francisco’s public schools have a positive impact on the entire city. A stronger school district benefits the local economy, local property values, and even public safety. Furthermore, a better quality of education leads to a better-skilled workforce in the future. 

The physical environments in which students learn significantly impacts their educational experiences. Safe, comfortable, and well-designed facilities have a positive effect on student performance, attendance, and reduced disciplinary problems. 

Bond measures allow SFUSD to continue to invest in repairs to address student comfort and to learn in safe and modern spaces. 

SFUSD is also committed to learning environments that support a 21st century education and high-quality math, science, and art programs. School classrooms, labs, and learning technology need to be modernized so that we can meet today’s standards for academic success. 

Bond projects are selected based on data collected from the 2023 Facilities Condition Assessment, in addition to other feedback on site conditions gathered during site visits, work orders, and ongoing assessments.

The Bond Program works closely with the Facilities Department to align with the Facilities Master Plan, a 2023 document that sets SFUSD’s maintenance and capital projects priorities. 

If the 2024 Bond passes in November 2024, the Bond Program will announce the next round of modernization sites by early 2025. 

Bond Program staff share updates on the website and via a newsletter. The District will conduct info/Q&A sessions and will offer surveys and town halls to help build understanding of the program’s work, as well as gather community feedback. 

New to the Bond Program’s leadership team is the Communications Director position, charged with overseeing the Bond Program’s stakeholder engagement processes and increasing transparency of the program. Moving forward, each Bond Project will include a community engagement component and uses feedback from staff, students, and families to inform the project design.

Core functionality is a priority category of the proposed 2024 Bond. It refers to essential building functions, such as plumbing, electricity, heating and cooling systems,  Core functionality projects will target a specific scope of work, making a surgical improvement rather than a broad modernization. Investing in core functionality allows the District to spread the impact of the 2024 bond to a greater number of sites.

A modernization is a comprehensive renovation of a building that improves both core functions and also updates the overall school design to improve areas like classrooms, hallways, multi-purpose areas, and schoolyards.

The District operates 121 properties, serving close to 50,000 students. Even as some schools close or consolidate through the Resource Alignment Initiative, a bond is necessary to repair the many buildings that will remain open.

This project proposes to construct a centralized food distribution facility to directly address food security issues within SFUSD, which is the City’s largest food distributor. The project will fully renovate an entire City industrial block, which currently houses SFUSD’s buildings and grounds warehouse. The size of the building, along with the complexity of updating both the shops and creating the food hub, requires a large investment. SFUSD is committed to a project that will serve all students long into the future. 

The SFUSD Bond Program holds itself to very high accountability standards and follows all best practices for oversight. These measures include:

Bond Report. Within 3 months of passage, complete a report outlining the 2024 Bond goals, investment categories, prioritization principles, accountability, and commitments. 

Board of Education Reporting. Report quarterly and provide an annual workshop to the BOE on program status and finances, and alignment with the 2023 FMP. 

Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee Management. Report quarterly, at a minimum, to the CBOC on Program progress and expenditures and present annual audits and financial reports. CBOC reports will include a financial recap of all active Bond Programs including budget information and variance. Prior to 2021, SFUSD did not have a CBOC in good standing. The CBOC was reconstituted in 2021.

Annual Bond Program Independent Performance and Financial Audits. Diligently work with an independent auditor to complete annual financial and performance audits, as required by the CA Education Code, by March following each fiscal year close. In 2021, SFUSD was behind on required annual bond audits. With CBOC’s productive oversight, we caught up on the backlog and improved our audit format.

Annual Bond Staff Financial Report. Annually and timed to coincide with required independent audits (no later than March after FY close), produce an financial report summarizing bond expenditures and investments for the preceding fiscal year

The SFUSD Bond Program Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) is enacted by a California law requiring oversight of public school bonds. The CBOC is charged with reviewing the spending of Bond funds and report their findings to the general public. Committee members who represent a variety of interests are appointed by the Board of Education to two-year terms. Meetings are open to the general public. Meeting agendas and minutes are posted on this website. The CBOC is required to follow the Brown Act.

The CBOC is not involved in selection of Bond projects nor in the planning and implementation of projects. They do review Bond Program audits, monitor accountability, provide feedback, and help to engage with the broader SFUSD context.

Over the past 21 years, SFUSD’s Bond Program has implemented four significant facilities bond measures with a combined value of $2 billion.  It has a track record of delivering projects on-time and on-budget. 

It has completed projects at every single school in SFUSD, with more than 40 school modernizations throughout the city. 

In recent years, under new leadership and with a rebuilt team, the Bond Program has brought the CBOC back into good standing, is up to date on all financial reporting. The Bond Program’s audits have all come back positive. 

San Francisco is a challenging city for construction, both because of its geography and environmental hazards, as well as high costs and complicated requirements. The Bond Program team is experienced in successfully delivering projects in this city and is driven by a dedication to improving the conditions where SF kids learn. 

You can see all fiscal reports through FY23 on our Financial page here.