Roseville High School may see a new gym replace the small gym, upgrades to the girls locker room, a refurbished pool deck and several other renovations on campus. These projects will move forward if voters pass the bond Measure D this November election.

This measure asks homeowners in the district to pay a tax based on the assessed value of their homes to raise $96 million in tax revenue. If passed, each homeowner in Roseville Joint Union High School District boundaries would pay $15 per $100,000 of their home’s property value annually.

If passed, each comprehensive high school in the district is guaranteed at least $13 million in bonds. RJUHSD superintendent Ron Severson guarantees this minimum amount in case extra funds are needed to cover unexpected challenges. Severson also considers RHS’ high demand for reconstruction and structural improvement, compared to other schools because of its age, when allocating these funds.

“RHS may get a little more because there are more needs to be met, but the goal is that there is something that would enable all the schools to make improvements,” Severson said.

RHS principal David Byrd is hopeful that this bond will carry out his vision for upgraded facilities and advanced education.

“We want to update the facilities and continue to bring them into the twenty first century,” Byrd said. “That’s why it’s got to be facilities not things that are going to be used for a year and then over with, [the money has] got to be used for things that will last for thirty or forty years, so that’s what we plan to invest in.”

Byrd also plans to allocate a portion of the money to smaller improvements. He said he envisions a refurbished 100 wing, a redesigned engineering lab, improvements made to the football stadium that include new restrooms, a new press box and a redesigned snack bar area.

RJUHSD said all revenue would stay within the community if Measure D passed. The money cannot be taken by the state nor be used for administrators’ salaries.

In addition, according to Severson, taxpayers within the district will have the opportunity to join the Citizens’ Oversight Committee whose role is to ensure the fiscal accountability of the money by frequently meeting to review the district’s progress. Employees of the district will not be included in the committee.

Severson plans to put $30 million of the collective $96 million bond towards constructing phase one of the West Roseville sixth high school.

“We’re asking the rest of the district to contribute so we can get a school out there by the year 2020,” Severson said. “If we can’t get this school on the ground by 2020, we are going to end up busing over one thousand high school kids to other schools in the district, which will create overcrowding.”

Measure D needs only fifty-five percent approval to pass. Local community involvement and support have led Severson to expect the measure will pass giving him high hopes for the future of the district and community.

“It’s very important for our whole community,” Severson said. “We’ve gotten support from both the conservative sides of the community as well as the more liberal, the city government supports this as well, all of the elected officials endorse it, we’ve even had the mayor of roseville endorse it. We’ve got nothing but great support right now.”

Roseville Joint Union High School District superintendent Ron Severson believes that overcrowding, aged infrastructure, and the incorporation of 21st century educational facilities are the most important issues this measure would address.

“What this is about is being proactive,” Severson said. “[The district] needs to ensure that we’ve got schools that are the right size, that we’ve got up-to-date facilities for all students in our district and that we take care of that for the next generation.”