The Lompoc School District is trying to pass the school bond measure for the fifth time

Measure M is a $160 million school bond measure that is on the ballot for voters in the Lompoc Unified School District.

“I speak today as someone who has worked in public schools for decades and I see the need we have here in Lompoc Unified to upgrade our schools,” said Clara Finneran, Superintendent of the Lompoc Unified School District.

Finneran says the passage of Measure M is essential to modernizing Lompoc schools.

“Our main needs relate to infrastructure. So things like roofing, electrical upgrades. We also have some significant security needs, so we need cameras and fencing,” she said.

“You kind of get used to it,” Brian Grimnes, principal of Cabrillo High School, said of the 60-year-old campus. “You don’t notice as much when things start to deteriorate over time.”

In the choir room, water seeps into the brick walls due to wear and tear on the roof. Other problems include outdated couches, missing blinds, and uneven paths that are not ADA accessible.

According to Finneran, these types of problems occur on all sixteen campuses and building new schools is not feasible.

“It’s very, very expensive to build new schools,” Finneran said. “Like many of us, we would like a new home, but that is very expensive and unaffordable, so the dollars could allow us to upgrade instead of building new.”

While there are many “Yes to M” signs around Lompoc, not everyone is on board. Lompoc resident Carol Hadley says she has already voted against Measure M.

“The pictures they showed are just little things,” Hadley said. “They need to show something a little bigger for the $160 million.”

As a property owner, she also worries about rising taxes.

‘We pay enough now. “I’m a retiree on a strict income, and with all these taxes we have too many people who are older and can’t survive,” Hadley said.

This is the fifth time this measure has been presented to voters.

To pass, it would require the approval of 55% of voters. If the proposal passes, Fineran says they could begin improvements by late spring 2025.