PRJUSD trustees approve $205 million bond measure for November ballot

By Camille DeVaul · Wed May 27 2026

Voters will decide proposed bond aimed at upgrading campuses, expanding CTE facilities, and repairing infrastructure

PASO ROBLES — Paso Robles residents are going to have the chance to vote on a $205 million bond measure this November. The bond would fund designated facility improvement projects benefiting students in grades 9-12 throughout the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD).

Trustees discussed the bond measure during the Tuesday, May 26, PRJUSD meeting. They later approved the bond's approval to be added to the November ballot with a 5-1 vote — Trustee Kenney Enney voting no, and Trustee Sondra Williams absent from the meeting.

The bond was previously presented at the Tuesday, May 12, board meeting. The measure would fund the construction, renovation, and expansion of career technical and vocational education facilities, classrooms, and other school facilities. It would also provide funding to repair or replace aging roofs, plumbing, and electrical systems, while upgrading school safety and security measures.

You can find our full coverage of that meeting at pasoroblespress.com

Support for the bond was mixed from the community. While many during the May 12 meeting were in support of the bond's potential improvements, others arrived Tuesday night to declare their disapproval of the bond.

Paso Robles resident Mark Perry, a Bearcat alumnus whose sons also went through PRJUSD, again expressed his support for the bond. He added that the PRJUSD facilities have been falling behind since his sons were in high school, and it's time for the district to make these improvements.

"I urge you to vote yes on the bond," Perry said.

During public comment, Randall Jordan spoke against the bond.

"I wholeheartedly urge this board to vote no," Jordan said to trustees. "It's a bad time, it's the wrong time. This board has a really terrible reputation from Measure M. Those funds we all feel, and I'm speaking for other people in this district, that they were mishandled and not spent wisely."

Others shared that while they understand the desire to improve facilities, they feel the tax burden is not worth it or that education and improving test scores should be a higher priority.

Superintendent Jennifer Loftus said the district’s planning process began with a broader vision for student learning and worked backward to determine the facilities needed to support that vision. She explained they decided what they wanted education in the district to look like, and then put together what the facilities should look like to support that.

She added that the development of the plan included extensive input from parents, students, and staff.

“This wasn’t just a wish list,” Loftus said. “Our city, our school system, is really sitting at the cusp of some really exciting times.”

Loftus also pointed to the importance of aligning career technical education (CTE) programs with future workforce needs, including anticipated growth tied to the pending spaceport.

“We cannot provide opportunities for our students to do what they need to do if we don’t have the facilities available to our students that they need," she said. "If we don’t adjust, we are leaving our students behind.”

Trustee Laurene McCoy shared that while she may understand some of the community's distrust of the district due to previous administration decisions, she strongly believes the bond should still be placed on the ballot.

"I do feel like we need to at least see what putting it on the ballot and our community says because it's our community, and if it's our community and our community doesn't want it, then they vote no," McCoy said. "If our community wants it, they'll vote yes. I feel like we need to allow them that opportunity because it is their future. It's their future students ... it's our future."

Enney reaffirmed his disapproval of the bond, adding that he disapproves of even adding the bond onto the ballot for voters to save the $120,000 needed to do so.

Enney raised concerns over a portion of the bond documents regarding repairs needed at Paso Robles High School that includes "removing asbestos, lead paint, and mold; ensuring safe, clean drinking water; maintaining fire safety."

Enney disagreed that this is a necessity, saying the asbestos removal was added to "tug at the heartstrings of the people" to get the bond measure passed.

McCoy asked Enney what about the bond measure is a no for him, considering it supports CTE program improvements, which Enney has previously supported.

"My issue is one: you don't have the trust of the community ... two: I'm really not enamored with the plan yet," Enney said, adding that reading, writing, and arithmetic need to be improved first.

Trustees approved the bond's approval to be added to the November ballot with a 5-1 vote with Enney voting no, and Williams absent from the meeting.

Residents will have a chance to vote for or against the bond during the Tuesday, Nov. 3, election.

The next Paso Robles Joint Unified School District meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, at 6 p.m.