8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 6-12, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS Voters in the Carmel Unified School District will decide this Nov. 3 whether to approve a $250 million bond measure to fund upgrading facilities across the district. The measure, approved by the CUSD board on June 17, is asking for less than the nearly $280 million that district officials forecast are needed to upgrade all its facilities, according to a 2019 master plan. “It’s to ensure students have reliable facilities, ensure teachers have reliable systems and to mitigate missed instructional hours—those moments that kids can’t go to school because a pipe burst,” says CUSD Board President Matt Glazer, the parent of two children attending CUSD schools. The district sets aside nearly $3 million every year to maintain and complete facilities projects, but it isn’t enough to fulfill the needs across the district. Glazer has visited all nine school sites and says the need is consistent with the district’s master plan. Some CUSD campuses were built in the 1940s and ’50s; parts of Carmel High School were built in 1939. Aging infrastructure is not unique to CUSD. Monterey Peninsula Unified and North Monterey County Unified are facing similar challenges. In 2024, MPUSD voters passed a $340 million bond, which included facilities upgrades. NMCUSD is hoping to pass a relatively modest $40 million bond measure this November for campus renovations. If approved, property owners within CUSD will pay $36 per $100,000 of assessed property value, generating $17.7 million annually until 2054. To pass, it needs 55-percent approval. The last time CUSD voters approved a bond measure was in 2005. Bond Market Carmel Unified will ask voters to approve a $250 million bond to upgrade aging facilities. By Celia Jiménez When the levee along the Pajaro River broke around midnight on March 11, 2023, the resulting flood devastated the community of Pajaro—inundating homes and businesses and leading to an abrupt early-morning evacuation of residents, many of whom were displaced for an extended period and whose belongings were damaged or destroyed. Farms also faced catastrophic floods, suffering millions in damage from the deluge. In 2024, multiple lawsuits were filed on behalf of multiple plaintiffs— including hundreds of residents, as well as agricultural operations in the Pajaro Valley such as Driscoll’s, JAL Berry Farms, and other non-farm businesses. Defendants named in the suits included the counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz, along with the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency and Caltrans, among others. Now, after more than two years in court, those cases are nearly settled, according to court records, with specific terms not yet announced or entered into the court record. According to Chief Assistant Monterey County Counsel Kelly L. Donlon, “The parties have preliminary agreement in all the Pajaro levee flood-related cases on financial terms, but not all parties have yet agreed and we are still negotiating the non-monetary terms.” One of the lawsuits, filed by Willoughby Farms, argued that the roughly $7 million in damage the company suffered on properties including Trafton Ranch and Cox Ranch were avoidable and caused by the multiple agencies’ decisions to “defer maintenance and repair, which created an unreasonable risk of harm to Willoughby Farms,” and that “the unreasonable conduct violated California law.” “This case is about a farm devastated in multiple places by a failed levee system and sewer system along the Pajaro River,” the complaint reads. “In a series of inadequate planning, operation and maintenance decisions, the agencies named in this lawsuit failed their duties owed to Willoughby Farms.” The company’s 65-acre O’Connell Ranch is located directly adjacent to the levee. Willoughby’s attorneys argued that the case is not about harm by “unforeseeable rainfall or harm associated with a foreseeable risk of owning property near a river.” The court documents highlight that the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the levee in 1949 to reduce flooding risks to the surrounding areas, with agencies including the County of Santa Cruz and the Monterey County Water Resources Agency signing a 1947 resolution assuring the Army that they would operate and maintain the levee. Willoughby’s lawsuit alleges breaches of California’s civil and government code along with a breach of the California Constitution, which states: “Private property may be taken or damaged for a public use and only when just compensation, ascertained by a jury unless waived, has first been paid to, or into court for, the owner.” More details about the settlement terms are expected in the coming weeks. Widespread flooding in the Pajaro Valley after the levee breached in 2023 prompted multiple lawsuits by farmers and individuals against various public agencies. Flood Pain A settlement is on the horizon in multiple lawsuits filed in response to the Pajaro levee failure. By Aric Sleeper Proposed upgrades include transitioning from portable to permanent classrooms at Tularcitos Elementary School, as well as updates to plumbing and electrical, disability access and playgrounds. “This case is about a farm devastated in multiple places.” DANIEL DREIFUSS DANIEL DREIFUSS
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