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Campaign donations for Redwood City’s local school bonds have exceeded $228,900 so far, according to the latest data from a public campaign finance site.
Of the 72 total contributions made to pro-bond committees, individual contributions make up only 5% of the campaign funds, while nearly 95% came from contractors, consultants and other business entities, many of which specialize in school campus development.
The school improvement measures, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, include a $591 million school bond for Sequoia Union High School District and a $298 million school bond for the Redwood City School District.
Sequoia’s Measure W received major campaign contributions from construction, architecture and design contractors and consultants based around the Bay Area and as far away as Phoenix. According to campaign finance data for Yes on W for Excellent High Schools, a committee supporting the bond, the committee’s single largest donor was CAW Architects, a Palo Alto-based architecture firm that specializes in school campus design and gave a one-time contribution of $15,000.
Measure W has a tax rate of $14 per $100,000 in assessed value. A home that costs $1 million home would raise taxes by an estimated $140 taxes a year. It would bring in an estimated $30.4 million a year.
The breakdown in funding for SUHSD’s pro-bond campaign closely matches that of RCSD. Redwood City Community for Better Schools, the pro-Measure S committee, received over $100,000 from various development and other business entities. RGM Kramer, Inc., a Concord-based school construction management company, was the campaign’s largest contributor, with two donations for a total of $30,000.
The Measure S campaign also received $21,881 in leftover funds from the Measure H Parcel Tax, which lost by a narrow margin in 2019.
According to the district, it has identified more than $400 million in repairs and updates needed since Measure T, $193 million, passed in 2015. However, total priority improvements would require about $241 million across all school sites. The bond, which has a $24 tax rate per $100,000 of assessed property value, would bring in $16 million annually for the district. A home that costs $1 million home would raise taxes by an estimated $240 taxes a year.
The funds from the bonds would go toward renovating aging classrooms, updating school libraries, fixing deteriorating rooms, upgrading electrical plumbing and improving labs and other facilities, according to the district.
Redwood City resident and retired CFO Chris Robell, who is leading the opposition campaign against Measure S has previously declined to comment on the finances of his opposition campaign. Last month, an RCSD trustee filed a complaint against him with the Fair Political Practices Commission, alleging that Robell had violated the Political Reform Act’s advertisement disclaimer provisions.
Redwood City float celebrates Italian American heritage in Fourth of July paradeJuly 1, 2026 11:02 am