18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY OCTOBER 1-7, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com a $250 million bond, requiring 55-percent approval, and the money would go to replace aging roofs, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and sewer systems, and replacing old buildings and portables with permanent classrooms. Back in 2019 CUSD’s facilities assessment put the district’s need at nearly $280 million—Measure I asks for less than that, even years later. At $36 per $100,000 of assessed value for households within CUSD—with no money allowed for salaries and independent citizen oversight built in—it’s a reasonable ask for kids sitting in aging classrooms. The measure doesn’t specify exactly where the work will happen. Not every project on every campus will be funded, and some of this bond’s success will be determined by how much matching money from the state is obtained. This measure gives the board great latitude not only for basic repairs, but also for things like athletic fields, pools and bleachers. MEASURE J | SOUTH MONTEREY COUNTY JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSOLIDATION | YES There are 24 school districts in Monterey County serving some 78,000 students. Each district is governed by a board and each has its own administration. And with an aging population, enrollment is declining, prompting many districts to look at budget cuts. Measure J would replace three existing school districts with two, a rare step toward the kind of consolidation that we think is smart and efficient governance. If passed by a majority of voters, SMCJUHSD, Greenfield Union and King City Union districts would be dissolved. The three would be replaced by two new districts: Greenfield Unified and King City Joint Unified, taking effect for the 2028-29 school year. The boards of the existing South County and Greenfield districts support this measure, while King City board members oppose it on the basis that their schools would lose local control. But board members would still be elected by voters and could still choose to prioritize programs like KCUSD’s dual-language immersion that make it unique. This is a relatively modest consolidation of districts that might be a bellwether for more, as long as students remain the focal point of new leadership—which should be the intent of every school board everywhere. MEASURE K | PACIFIC GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND | YES This $85-per-parcel bond would generate an estimated $800,000 per year. Unlike many school bonds that are earmarked for facilities upgrades (like Measure I or Measure L), this is a general bond that could be used for a variety of instructional services, including instructor salaries, academic programs or after-school programs— the only explicitly banned expenditure is administrator compensation. The threshold for passing such a bond is higher (two-thirds, instead of 55 percent). Last year, faced with a $2 million budget deficit, the PGUSD board eliminated four teacher positions and one librarian position. This general bond would help offset cuts like those. MEASURE L | NORTH MONTEREY COUNTY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND | YES North Monterey County Unified School District’s schools are aging, with some classrooms 60-plus years old. The district serves 4,200 K-12 students, and those students deserve decent, safe buildings. Measure L would not go toward education directly, but instead to the least glamorous (but necessary) physical bones of classrooms—replacing lead pipes, repairing repairs, installing new HVAC systems and fixing bathrooms. Children need these basics in order to learn, and teachers need them in order to teach. The $40 million bond would generate just one-fifth of the $200 million NMCUSD officials estimated is needed to upgrade all facilities, but it’s a start. MEASURE M | CARMEL HOTEL TAX | YES Measure M would raise Carmel’s existing 10-percent transient-occupancy tax (TOT) to 12 percent, bringing in an estimated $1.9 million in new annual revenue. This would raise Carmel’s total TOT collections to roughly $11.7 million—paid by hotel guests, not residents. The Carmel Innkeepers Association pushed back against the increase, warning it could suppress bookings and discourage hoteliers from renovating aging properties. The council moved it forward anyway, voting 4-1 (with Mayor Dale Byrne dissenting) to put it on the ballot. Councilmember Bob Delves noted the city’s “product hasn’t kept up” with what visitors are paying for and needs the investment. Paired with Carmel’s Measure N sales tax increase, it’s a two-pronged way to raise money from both locals and visitors to support the city’s infrastructure needs. If approved, this TOT would still be slightly lower than 12.5 percent in Cambria, one of Carmel’s direct competitors for hotel guests to the south. MEASURE N | CARMEL SALES TAX | YES In June, the Carmel City Council adopted a $42 million budget for fiscal year 2026-2027, including capital expenditures. There’s plenty of concern that rising costs are outpacing projected revenues in this charming city by the sea, even though the city has built up $16 million in reserves. Measure N would bring in an estimated $1.8 million in new annual revenue with a 0.375-percent sales tax increase on top of the existing 9.25-percent sales tax. Of that, only 1.5 percent currently stays local; this would take that amount to 1.875 percent, the maximum allowed. It comes with no sunset clause. Unlike industry response to Carmel’s Measure M, there is no official opposition filed to Measure N. MEASURE O | GREENFIELD SALES TAX | YES Greenfield voters have already approved an earlier version of this 0.75-percent sales tax twice, which returns to the ballot as Measure O this year with a request for another sixyear extension. The current version, Measure T, expires in March 2027. This would extend it to 2033. Measure O generates roughly $1.4 million a year—significant revenue in a total budget of $21.3 million, covering staff positions in the police and recreation departments. “[These] are essential services to our city so we really need to get behind this and support it in order for the city to continue to do the good things we’ve been doing over the last few years,” Mayor Bob White said when he joined council in voting to place this on the ballot. MEASURE P | KING CITY SALES TAX | YES This small city of about 14,000 has struggled with its budget for decades, and now is debt-free. Part of the City Council’s plan to keep it that way is asking voters to renew a 0.5-cent sales tax that generates about $1.2 million annually to support a range of needs in King City. If approved, it will keep the total share of sales tax that stays local in King City at 1.5 percent, consistent with neighboring cities. DANIEL DREIFUSS Road work in Salinas, where an existing sales tax measure is set to expire in 2030. Measure G would extend that revenue, accounting for roughly 14 percent of the city’s budget.
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