Bonds and Construction - Measure F - Background on Oversight Committees

Measure F Citizens' Bond
Oversight Committee
Additional Information

The San José Unified School District Measure F Independent Citizens Bond Oversight Committee was created by the District Board of Trustees as required by the Strict Accountability in Local School Construction Bonds Act of 2000.  This act is chaptered as California Education Code sections 15264-15276 , 15278-15282 , and 15284-15288 .The Act requires the Committee to actively review and report on the proper expenditure of taxpayers¹ money for school construction, and asks the Committee to promptly alert the public to any waste or improper expenditure of school construction bond money.

The Strict Accountability Act is legislation that accompanied a state constitutional amendment, widely known as Proposition 39 (which modified Article XIIIA , Section 1.b.3 of the California Constitution), that enables local school districts such as the San Jose Unified School District to pass bonds payable through ad valorem property taxes by a 55% margin, rather than the usual 2/3 required under Proposition 13.

In response to widespread public concern over improper, inefficient, and sometimes corrupt handling of school bond funds, the Strict Accountability Act requires a school district to adhere to a variety of strict accountability measures, including but not limited to: (1) the creation of an independent citizens' oversight committee; (2) an independent annual performance audit to ensure that bond proceeds are spent only on the specific facilities projects listed in the ballot measure ; (3) an independent annual financial audit; and (4) a right for individual taxpayers to file an expedited lawsuit to prevent the misspenditure of bond funds.