Mt. Diablo Unified School District appears set to keep a $529 million general obligation bond off the November 2026 ballot, a welcome outcome that CoCoTax helped bring about. At the board's June 24 meeting, Superintendent Adam Clark told trustees that, absent direction to the contrary, he would recommend pausing the measure until 2028, and he pointed directly to our Association's stated willingness to reconsider its position once the District puts its house in order.

The bond floated this spring would have cost property owners $38 per $100,000 of assessed value each year, layered on top of the Measure C obligation approved in 2010 ($348 million) and the Measure J bonds approved in 2018 ($150 million). On June 10 I wrote to the trustees on behalf of CoCoTax to explain why we would almost certainly oppose a fall measure due to accountability concerns.

MDUSD lacks a current Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee report certifying that the Measure J program complies with the Proposition 39 requirements written into Article XIII A of the California Constitution. The committee's most recent annual report, issued in 2024 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, was itself critical of the program. A Civil Grand Jury separately found that the CBOC does not operate with the independence Proposition 39 intended, and while the District agreed with most of the Grand Jury's findings in its formal response, the current Grand Jury's Compliance and Continuity Report (issued this February) states that the District is not implementing the report's five recommendations. The East Bay Times reported that a nearly $50 million energy-savings contract with Schneider Electric had failed to deliver the savings it promised. Asking voters to approve half a billion dollars more before those problems are resolved was never a reasonable request.

The Superintendent's own reasoning tracked ours in places and diverged in others. He cited inflation, high gasoline prices, and general economic anxiety as reasons this is not the moment to ask the community for money, and he acknowledged, accurately, that the taxpayers association had signaled openness to supporting a measure in 2028. We had. The path we laid out is straightforward: use the next two years to implement the Grand Jury's five recommendations, restore the oversight committee's independence, and resolve the Schneider Electric matter, and a future bond may reach the ballot without our opposition.

The political context reinforced the case for waiting. In June, Contra Costa voters rejected both Measure B, the countywide sales tax, and Measure G, the community college district's $920 million bond, contests in which our Association's opposition helped shape the result, and two Oakley Union Elementary bonds failed as well. A November ballot already crowded with the SB 63 regional transit sales tax, along with numerous other bonds and taxes, offered MDUSD little room to clear the 55 percent threshold.

Deferral is the right call. We look forward to holding the District to the commitments that make a 2028 measure worth a second look.

Pay It Forward to Defeat the November Transit Tax

Defeating the regional transportation sales tax in November is going to take a massive, costly effort that begins now, and CoCoTax needs all hands on deck.

Many thanks to those who received and already responded to our recent fundraising appeal.

But if you’re watching your pennies, here is a way to help that costs you nothing in the end, by paying it forward:

1. Donate $160.00 in advance to Contra Costa Taxpayers Association.
2. Sign up to be a poll worker for the November election. Click here to apply.
3. Reimburse yourself once you receive your $160.00 stipend payment for your service.

Donate by credit card: click here to donate.

Donate by check: mail to Contra Costa Taxpayers Association, PO Box 27, Martinez, CA 94553-0114.

Upcoming Events

CoCoTax Lunch, July 24: County Budget Overview with County Administrator Monica Nino (we will also be voting on state ballot measure recommendations that day)
Friday, July 24, 2026 | 11:45am – 1:15pm PDT

CoCoTax Recommendations for November Local Ballot Measures
via Zoom
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | 12:00 Noon – 1:15pm PDT

CoCoTax Lunch, September 25, Scott Kaufman, Legislative Director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Friday, September 25, 2026 | 11:45am – 1:15pm PDT

CoCoTax Lunch, October 23, Rob Gutierrez, President and CEO of CalTax (the California Taxpayers Association) Friday, October 23, 2026 | 11:45am – 1:15pm PDT

For more information about the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association, visit cocotax.org.