Letter: Measure G-26 $205 million bond is the first step in the $429 million facilities master plan

With Election Day approaching, a sharply worded letter from a Paso Robles resident is putting new scrutiny on Measure G-26, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District's $205 million school bond — and on the much larger facilities plan it would help fund.

In a letter to the editor published Oct. 30 by the Paso Robles Daily News, longtime resident Diane Hull argues that the bond is only "the first step" in a $429 million facilities master plan, raising the question of whether additional bonds — and additional taxes — could follow.

What Measure G-26 Would Fund

At the center of Hull's letter is the district's 2030 Vision Facilities Master Plan, prepared by 19-6 Architects at a cost not to exceed $250,000 and adopted by the Board of Trustees in September 2026. According to the letter, the state requires a five-year facilities plan for districts to participate in many state funding programs — a requirement reinforced under Proposition 2, the statewide school facilities bond approved by California voters in November 2024.

The Yes on Measure G-26 campaign has estimated the total cost of the master plan at $429 million, according to the letter — more than double the $205 million bond now before voters. Hull asks directly: "Does this mean another bond is anticipated in the future?"

The bond's size is not arbitrary. As Hull lays out, California law caps school district bonded indebtedness at 2.5% of assessed property value. With roughly $13 billion in assessed value within the district, the bonding capacity is about $325 million. After subtracting the $115 million in bonds passed in 2006 and 2016, the $205 million in Measure G-26 represents the maximum the district can borrow until prior bonds are paid off or property values rise — a window Hull estimates at roughly 10 years. The 2.5% cap is set out in the state Education Code, including sections 15106, 15102, 15268, and 15270.

The Tennis Court Project Drawing Scrutiny

Hull trains much of her criticism on the first project proposed under the plan: six new tennis courts and an 82-space parking lot at Paso Robles High School, which would relocate the existing courts to make room for the parking. The estimated total cost is $6.46 million.

A $430,000 design fee to 19-6 Architects for that project was on the agenda for the school board's Oct. 13 meeting but was pulled by the superintendent at the last minute. According to the letter, the meeting minutes confirm the item was "tabled for a future meeting."

Hull questions the priorities behind the project. Typical varsity and junior varsity tennis rosters run between 24 and 35 players, she notes, while resurfacing the existing courts would cost roughly $100,000. "Does the high school really need state-of-the-art tennis courts for a small number of students?" she writes. "Could these millions of dollars address more urgent classroom, safety, or facility needs instead?"

Questions About Past Bond Spending

The letter also revisits spending under Measure M, the district's 2016 bond. According to a Committee Report to the Community dated May 2026, six modular transitional kindergarten/kindergarten classrooms installed at Georgia Brown Elementary cost more than $6 million. Hull's own research into comparable 1,440-square-foot modular classrooms — including fire protection, covered walkways, ADA ramps, permits, engineering, and site preparation — suggests a per-classroom cost of roughly $420,000 at the high end, or about $2.5 million for six classrooms.

"How did the cost for six classrooms exceed $6 million?" she asks, noting the district did not need to purchase land for the project.

Hull also highlights a governance lapse: the Measure M Citizens Oversight Committee lost all but one of its members in January 2025 and could not make quorum, leaving the district out of compliance with the state law requiring bond oversight committees. Roughly $17 million — about 18% of the $95 million in Measure M funds — remained unspent as of June 2025, according to the auditor's report posted on the district's website. The oversight committee did not reconvene until September 2026.

The Stakes for Paso Robles Voters

The letter lands at a consequential moment. Measure G-26 goes to voters days after publication, and if approved, property owners within the district would carry the tax burden. Paso Robles has a track record of supporting school bonds — the 2006 and 2016 measures totaled $115 million — but Hull's letter taps into a perennial local debate over cost, transparency, and educational return on investment.

"Paso Roblans support improving school facilities," Hull writes. "The question is how much can we afford and what is truly necessary to improve education performance?"

The Paso Robles Daily News noted that the letter reflects the author's personal opinion, not the outlet's views.

For voters still weighing the measure, the letter raises three practical questions worth watching after Election Day: whether the school board revives the tennis court design contract it tabled Oct. 13, how the district addresses the cost discrepancies Hull identifies from Measure M projects, and whether the remaining $429 million master plan — and any future bond needed to fund it — returns to the ballot in the years ahead.

The district's facilities master plan documents, Measure M audit reports, and Citizens Oversight Committee materials are available through the PRJUSD website for residents who want to review the underlying records themselves.