Former El Segundo, California City Councilman Mike Robbins authored, printed, and distributed citywide an information flyer documenting and exposing evidence of a pay-for-play scam by the El Segundo Unified School District (ESUSD).

The scam, ESUSD Bond Measure ES, will jack up property taxes paid by El Segundo homeowners, renters, and other property owners west of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH, formerly Sepulveda Blvd.) by more than a quarter billion dollars, and enrich the out-of-town and out-of-state special interests that make money from school bond tax hikes, and that funded the Measure ES campaign with many $5,000 and $10,000 campaign contributions.

Here is a link to a PDF file of that flyer.

The content of that flyer appears below.

Vote “NO” on Measure ES !

Quarter Billion Dollar+ Tax Hike on Homeowners,
Renters, and Taxpayers West of PCH (Sepulveda)

THIS GRASSROOTS FLYER PROVIDES THE FACTS THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS HIDING.

These facts are from government public record information. See PublicSafetyProject.org.

• Evidence of Pay-For-Play: $81,000 in BIG campaign contributions mostly from out-of-town & out-of-state special interests that make money from school bond taxes, including architect, construction, consultant, & technology companies, & lawyers. $5,000 from ESUSD’s law firm. (SEE BELOW)
• Special interests often receive a MILLION TAX DOLLARS for every THOUSAND DOLLARS they contribute. They don’t donate $5,000 to $10,000 each to get nothing in return.
• Measure ES Campaign: Organized by a school board member and a former city treasurer who resigned in disgrace; Managed from Oakland; Slick mailers designed, printed, & mailed in Berkeley.
• ALL of the School District’s TAXPAYER COST NUMBERS are OPTIMISTIC ESTIMATES!
  The Tax Rate Statement for Measure ES states, “… the foregoing information is based upon the District’s projections and estimates only, which are not binding upon the District.”
• By Law, ES authorizes unlimited property tax increases to secure the bonds for the “investors”.
• Total homeowner/renter/taxpayer cost of up to $368 MILLION for principal and interest!
  • $193,428,000 estimated taxpayer cost for principal and interest is wildly optimistic.
  • Legal maximum cost to taxpayers is FOUR TIMES THE AMOUNT BORROWED:   $368 MILLION.
• Renters pay property taxes passed on to them in their rent as an overhead cost.
• By law, ONLY 25 CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR IS GUARANTEED to be spent for schools!
• $92 MILLION for schools, and up to $276 MILLION in interest to hand-picked “investors”, without a competitive bid to determine bond interest rates, durations, and sales fees.
• 12% Maximum Legal Interest Rate for up to 40 Years! That’s what “at legal rates” means in ballot statement. ESUSD violated E.C. §13119 by not disclosing bond duration in ballot statement.
• We are Still Paying 13.899%, 9.704%, and 8.09% for previous ESUSD Bonds until 8/1/2033, 8/1/2025, and 8/1/2027, respectively.
• ESUSD regularly sells Risky Capital Appreciation Bonds that exploit taxpayers. They pay no principal or interest for a span of years, add unpaid interest to the principal, & pay interest on interest.
• ES will spend MILLIONS on computers and technology that will be obsolete and trashed or recycled in 3 to 5 years, and finance it at up to 12% for up to 40 years, secured by our homes!
• Bond Money WILL BE SPENT ON SCHOOL EMPLOYEE SALARIES AND BENEFITS.
• Measure ES text states: “Proceeds of the bonds may be used to pay or reimburse the District for the cost of District staff” (salaries & benefits – see back side & TransparentCalifornia.com).
• “Citizens’ Oversight Committee” is a farce: Hand-picked by School Board using District recommendations, serves at will of School Board. Last one disbanded before all money was spent.
• Past Annual Audits DID NOT STOP ESUSD from VIOLATING the LAW on use of Tax Money.
• ESUSD VIOLATED laws against spending taxpayer money on political campaigns. E.g., contract approved 2/14/2017 with True North Research, Inc. for campaign polling & communications.
• School District spends operating and maintenance money on lavish salaries, benefits, and pensions, then cries “poor”, “leaky roof”, & “unsafe” to guilt taxpayers into paying double & triple.
• EXAMPLES from El Segundo USD Salary and Pension Data at TransparentCalifornia.com :
  • School Board Member William Watkins, a retired ESUSD teacher & administrator with 40 years of service, gets a CalSTRS pension of $138,830 per year for life with $2,127 annual COLA raises.
    His pension paid him $931,920 for 2011-2017, and ~ $2 Million for 2001-2017, mostly from taxes.
  • School Board Candidate Paulette Caudill, a retired ESUSD teacher & teachers union member with < 35 years of service, gets a CalSTRS pension of $91,077 per year for life + $1,535 COLAs.
  • School Board Member Nancy Cobb, a retired ESUSD teacher & teachers union member with 17 years of service, gets a CalSTRS pension of $40,170 per year for life + $680 COLA raises. She organized the YES on Measure ES campaign scam, with all the contributors below.

Most of the $81,000 in Measure ES campaign contributions are from out-of-town and out-of-state businesses that make money from school bond tax hikes. Some worked on Wiseburn high school in E.S. Silver Creek Industries below sold 4 modular classroom buildings to ESUSD and wants to sell more.