(endorsed)*

The Civil Grand Jury finds that in the current environment, which is unregulated at the local level, it is easy for the author of a ballot measure question to write the question in a way that is confusing or misleading to voters. Response to Finding 1 The District disagrees with this finding. Preliminarily, the District does not agree with the premise of the report's finding, that the preparation and content of a ballot measure are "unregulated at the local level" and it therefore is "easy for the author of a ballot measure question to write the question in a way that is confusing or misleading to voters." F 408.347.5015 830 N. Capitol Ave San Jose, CA 95133 T 408.347.5000 esuhsd.org East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees Lorena Chavez, President Pattie Cortese, Vice President Bryan Do, Clerk J. Manuel Herrera, Member Van T. Le, Member Glenn Vander Zee, Superintendent Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury January 27, 2023 Re: Response of East Side Union High School District to 2022 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report: "If You Only Read The Ballot, You're Being Duped," dated October 7, 2022 This finding disregards the provisions of Section 13119 of the Elections Code, which requires the ballot measure to be "a true and impartial synopsis of the purpose of the proposed measure, and shall be in language that is neither argumentative nor likely to create prejudice for or against the measure." This is a clear legal requirement which the District and its consultants and attorneys take very seriously. Failure to comply with this requirement would be a grounds for challenge to the ballot measure, which could be disastrous to the District's financing programs. By statute, the ballot measure cannot exceed 75 words, and many of these words are needed to comply with mandatory disclosures under Section 13119 of the Elections Code, including disclosure of the amount of money to be raised annually by the measure, and the rate and duration of the tax to be levied. Bond measures are also subject to various requirements under Section 15122 of the Education Code, including the amount of the bonds to be voted on, the maximum interest rate and the purpose for which the proceeds are to be used. In addition, it is customary for ballot measures to disclose the fact that the expenditure of proceeds is subject to citizens oversight and audits, and in the case of a parcel tax measure it is customary to disclose exemptions for senior citizens and other disadvantage groups. Given the foregoing requirements, there are not enough words remaining for the ballot measure to permit more than a broad summary of the purposes for which the bond or tax proceeds are authorized to be spent. The problem is compounded because for school districts the list of authorized projects is frequently quite varied and extensive. The full text of the ballot measure includes a comprehensive list of authorized projects, which is made available to voters as part of the election materials which are provided prior to the election.