Carmel Unified School District is asking voters to approve its largest-ever bond measure, a $250 million proposal to replace aging roofs, pipes and portable classrooms across the district.
Measure I needs 55% approval on Nov. 3. It would cost property owners an estimated $36 per $100,000 of assessed value per year while bonds are outstanding. Vote-by-mail ballots began going out Oct. 5.
The bond grew out of a Facilities Master Plan the district completed in June 2019, according to The Sandpiper, Carmel High School's student newspaper, which reported on the measure Oct. 1. COVID-19 paused the funding effort in March 2020. The board resumed planning in September 2025, finalized updates in January 2026 and adopted the bond resolution on June 17, 2026.
The plan identified roughly $258 million in priority projects, according to district documents. The district's oldest classrooms date to 1939. Specific problems include deteriorating adobe walls and roof leaks at Carmel High School, a broken underground water pipe at Carmelo Child Development Center, aging pipes at Carmel River Elementary School and severely cracked asphalt at Tularcitos Elementary.
The district spends nearly $3 million a year on maintenance but says unfulfilled facility needs remain a pressing concern. Superintendent Sharon Ofek told The Sandpiper that ongoing repairs alone cannot fix the problem.
"Ongoing repairs cannot replace major systems like roofs, plumbing and aging portables," Ofek said.
State law bars bond money from paying salaries or operating costs. If approved, a citizens oversight committee would monitor spending, and the district would publish annual reports and undergo independent audits, according to the district's bond pamphlet.
CUSD board president Matt Glazer said the general obligation structure qualifies the district to apply for state matching funds. The district holds a AAA credit rating from S&P, the highest the agency issues.
Not everyone is sold. Art Fernandez, a candidate for the CUSD Governing Board in Trustee Area 2, told The Sandpiper he supports facilities investment but said the proposal lacks clarity on which projects are most urgent and how the bond fits into a long-term strategy.
CUSD parent Evelyn Dincer echoed that concern, asking the district to identify which projects present immediate health and safety risks before setting the bond's size.
Graeme Robertson, president of the Carmel Residents Association and a Carmel High School Foundation board member, backs the measure. Robertson attended Carmel River, Middle and High School in the 1960s and 1970s and said many of the facilities look the same as when he was a student.
The district's last successful bond was a $21.5 million measure in November 2005, approved by 74% of voters. That money funded the Carmel High performing arts center, swimming pool and permanent classrooms.
In-person voting on Nov. 3 takes place at Carpenter Hall in Sunset Center in Carmel-by-the-Sea, open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A secure ballot drop box is in the Sunset Center parking lot.
