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A war is brewing between those in favor and those against Measure S, Redwood City School District’s $298 million bond set to appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.
The latest battle, which pits a school board trustee against a Redwood City resident and retired CFO, comes just days before San Mateo County begins mailing out ballots to voters.
One day after Chris Robell, who is leading the opposition campaign against Measure S, spoke to board members at a recent meeting, he received a letter informing him that Trustee Mike Wells had filed a complaint against him with the Fair Political Practices Commission alleging that Robell had violated the Political Reform Act’s advertisement disclaimer provisions.
In the Sept. 22 complaint, Wells claimed that he found a flyer taped to his door. The flyer, according to Wells, did not clearly identify the organization that paid for the ad.
According to the Act, political committees that spend more than $1,000 a year on political ads for ballot measures must disclose the name of the committee that paid for the ad.
Robell declined to comment on the flyer but said he believes the district and the board are unfairly targeting him.
“I’m a thorn in their side,” he said. “This is ‘David and Goliath.’ [The district] knows that I am spending a lot of time on this, and I feel very passionate about wanting to make sure that the community’s financial matters are respected.”
Robell declined to comment on finances pertaining to the opposition campaign, but said he’d filed a number of public records requests with the district, participated in neighborhood association-sponsored debates and he’s spent time explaining and educating his neighbors on school bonds—both Measure S and Sequoia Union High School District’s Measure W.
At the Sept. 21 meeting, Robell asked the school board to provide equitable access to the district's website and the superintendent’s newsletter, so that he could also provide the public with information regarding the school bond measure to counter its message. Superintendent John Baker had previously declined his request, he said.
In another fight, Robell alleges the school district is violating California law by allegedly promoting Measure S on its website and through its superintendent’s newsletter. According to education codes 7054a and 7054b, school districts are prohibited from using public funds for “urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure” and can only provide "fair and impartial presentation of relevant facts" regarding ballot measures or bonds, respectively.
The school district has not responded to a request for comment.
On Saturday, the district appeared to have made some changes to its website, including updating its page that displayed information regarding Measure S. One of the most noticeable changes on the page included the change in the headline, which previously read, "November Ballot Will Ask Voters to Modernize their Local Elementary Schools." On Saturday, the headline read, "November Ballot Includes Bond Measure to Fund Local Elementary School Modernization."
Robell previously asked the district to change the language on its ballot label, arguing that it could mislead voters, because it didn’t specifically tell voters the bond couldn’t be used for “administrators’ salaries, teachers’ salaries or academic programs.”
The district ultimately decided to keep its ballot language.
“While the request for the district to adjust the language is appreciated, the law is clear that bond funds may only be used for facility repairs and improvements as stated in the measure,” said Jorge Quintana, district spokesperson, in an email.
“The full ballot text is the complete statement of the measure that provides all of the detail to voters about the measure. This language will be included in the ballot pamphlet that all voters receive,” he added.
