Woodland voters appear to reject school improvement, sales tax measures
Early returns show that voters in Woodland are rejecting two local tax measures, including a bond that would fund repairs and improvements for school facilities and a one-cent city sales tax measure.
Measures P and U, which were both targeted by a heavily-funded opposition campaign, are the only tax measures in Yolo County on their way to rejection.
Woodland Joint Unified School District’s Measure P has received only 47% of votes in favor despite the school district’s early polling showing more promising returns. The measure needs 55% approval to win. Measure U, a proposed sales tax for the City of Woodland, is also trailing with 45% of voters saying “yes.”
The Yolo County Business PAC, which is sponsored by local business owner and former oil mogul Jeffrey Morgan, spent $51,493 and $72,620 on efforts to defeat Measures P and U respectively, according to campaign finance filings. The majority of the money funded mailers, some of which Measure P proponents called misleading for their oversimplification of bond financing. The Yes on Measure P campaign spent around $46,000.
Morgan owns JDM Organic Farm, a 147-acre farm growing olive and grape varietals, which also serves as an event venue. The farm has an assessed value of over $2 million, according to the Yolo County Assessor. He previously worked in the oil industry as the CEO of oil drilling company National EWP and as both president and owner of WDC Exploration and Wells.
The Yolo County Business PAC has not returned a request for comment.
What defeat means for Woodland Joint Unified
Former board member and Yes on Measure P committee member Jake Whitaker said that defeat of the bond would put the district in a “very difficult position” to manage its deteriorating facilities going forward. The district’s facilities needs were calculated to total $600 million in 2022. Measure P would have authorized the district to borrow $160 million.
“We’re going to have principals going around and making sure that ceiling tiles aren’t falling on kids. Some of our classrooms have garbage cans to collect rainwater,” he said. “That is the status quo and that will continue until we pass a bond. There is simply no alternative with the way that California school finance works.”
The bond failing while California’s Prop 2 passes would also mean that Woodland Joint Unified could miss out on matching state funds that could compound the district’s investment in its facilities.
Whitaker believes that the messaging put forward by the Yolo County Business PAC penetrated the electorate. He points to the relative success of other tax measures in the county and sentiments the Yes on Measure P campaigners picked up from constituents while canvassing.
“There was this pervasive belief in the community that if the district managed its money better, they wouldn’t need this measure,” Whitaker said. “But if you just take modernization and deferred maintenance costs into account, it totals to be more than the district’s annual operating budget of $130 million.”
Whitaker hopes to see the disparity between yes and no votes narrow as more results come in, but it is unlikely that the measure passes. He said that he is proud of the campaign’s work to reach voters in the final weeks of the election.
Once the final results come in, bond measure proponents plan to review their overall strategy so the district can pass a bond in a future election year. Whitaker doesn’t expect Morgan’s PAC to go away, but he thinks that this experience will help them better combat the opposition when the time comes.
Other Yolo County Business PAC efforts
The PAC also campaigned against Measure U, a one-cent sales tax measure that would provide annual local funding for civil services like repairing roads, maintaining public spaces and improving emergency response times. It is the only city sales tax measure in Yolo County to be on its way to rejection.
Unlike Measure P, there was no funded effort in support of passing the sales tax.
Similar tax measures like Measure Q in Davis, Measure O in West Sacramento and Measure S in Winters show promising returns for approval, with returns as high as 62%.
Not all of the Yolo County Business PAC’s efforts are proving successful, however. The PAC spent more than $31,000 in support of Fred Lopez for the Woodland City Council Area 4 race and another $6,000 in opposition of his opponent, David Moreno. Moreno is currently leading with 56% of the vote.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 2:34 PM.
