Measure J Update - April 2, 2025

Measure J - Bond Issuance Update

On March 6, Tustin Unified sold the first issuance of bonds from Measure J, which was approved by nearly 67% of voters in last November’s election. The bonds were sold through a competitive sale process with 11 underwriters submitting bids.

In preparation for this bond sale, Moody’s Ratings assigned an Aa1 rating for the bonds based on the District's strong local economy and overall financial strength. We are extremely proud of our Aa1 rating, as they are highly attractive to investors, which lowers the overall borrowing costs for our community.

Upon review of the bids, FHN Financial Capital Markets submitted the winning bid at a true interest cost of 3.96%.  Given the market conditions at the time of sale, this result was much better than our conservative estimate of 4.8%. With this successful sale, the District will net approximately $86.38 million for school projects, while keeping debt service and tax rates projections for Measure J lower than previously estimated. 

As compared to the other bid submissions, the winning bid was approximately $352,000 lower than the second place bid and more than $1,651,000 lower than the last place bid!

School Safety Update

For the past decade, TUSD has invested in supporting the mental health of students and training staff to handle emergency scenarios, both of which are the top recommendations from school safety experts.  The next layers of security involve improving the entrance security of all campuses, better screening visitors, and improving the situational awareness of our staff through the addition of live security cameras.  TUSD has just completed a year-long school safety pilot on each of these technologies and has established a plan for implementation on each campus during the next two years.  While bond construction will take time, the TUSD School Board has prioritized school safety and the community will begin to see improvements to campuses beginning during Spring 2025.  

Phase One Modernization Update

We are also excited to announce the schools that will be part of our Phase One Facility Modernization Program. We have started architectural planning for Arroyo, Beswick and Loma Vista Elementary Schools. Construction/Modernization of these schools will begin in summer of 2026.  

As shared above, we are thrilled to receive the first installment of our Measure J Bond Funding, which will provide the necessary infrastructure, modernization and safety upgrades at each of these campuses. Please know that communication related to Measure J and TUSD’s modernization program will be ongoing over the next several months, ensuring our staff, families and community are well informed throughout each phase.  

Once again, thank you for your very generous support. We are fortunate to work in a community that is so dedicated to the future of our students.