Sunnyvale school improvements hinge on March voters

Sunnyvale residents will vote on a multi-million dollar bond measure to support local school facilities this March.

Measure C would help the Sunnyvale School District continue facility improvements at multiple locations, which include updating technology and retrofitting old buildings. The measure needs 55% voter approval to pass. If the measure fails, the district will be unable to finish its ongoing plans, such as modernizing Sunnyvale Middle School, which serves more than 1,000 students.

“We do have a lot of schools and facilities that are very old and they need to be renewed,” Sunnyvale School District Board President Isabel Jubes-Flamerich told San José Spotlight.

Sunnyvale School District serves more than 6,000 students across 10 elementary and middle schools. About two-thirds of Sunnyvale’s K-8 students fall within the district, with most other students attending the Cupertino Union School District, which is divided along Fremont Avenue.

Along with upgrades at the middle school, a district statement said bond funding would go toward improving accessibility, expanding counseling facilities and modernizing technology.

Jubes-Flamerich added that the funds will be used to improve and expand on outside learning opportunities, such as adding more school gardens where students can learn about nature.

Funds from the district’s previous facilities bond, Measure GG, are running dry. It was passed by 70% of voters in 2018 and was used to renovate most of Ellis Elementary School and parts of Sunnyvale Middle School. Jubes-Flamerich told San José Spotlight that bond money also went to other projects that weren’t initially budgeted, such as upgrading the schools’ air filter systems after COVID-19 and expanding the district’s transitional kindergarten programs.

A major upgrade of Sunnyvale Middle School is next on the list. Built in 1961, most of the school buildings are original. Alia Wilson, district spokesperson, said the district hopes to modernize the campus to improve student experience. She said the existing bond will only finance the design of the new two-story classrooms.

“It’s giving (the school) a really overdue facelift,” Wilson told San José Spotlight.

The total cost of rebuilding the entire school is estimated at $100 million, according to the district’s master plan documents. The new classrooms are about 30% of estimated costs, or approximately $31 million.

Based on district research, voters are expected to support the measure, Wilson said. She added the district has been working on community outreach ahead of the election.

Jubes-Flamerich said she’s confident through pre-polling that Measure C will pass.

“Education has been changing,” Jubes-Flamerich said. “We need to keep our facilities up to date and our kids deserve that. Our kids deserve a very high standard.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.