[quote=carli]Wow, since I left the discussion, it’s gotten all the way down the road to thinking about college! . . .[/quote]
Yes, carli, we can’t tell how old the OP’s child(ren) are but are assuming they are in Elem/Middle school. He/she is apparently transferring from out of state and has set his/her sights on 92127, 92129 and 92130 without any regard to other zips which could also be convenient for them. 92127 and 92130 are almost entirely encumbered by Community Facilities Districts making Mello Roos bonds (“MR”) of up to an additional 1.7% of assessed value added to the regular property tax. 92129 is partially encumbered by CFD’s and these MR bonds tend to be lower and closer to payoff there. The bulk of Mello Roos Bonds are used to fund local school district buildings and other infrastructure.
The OP here appears to be heavily considering areas of 92130 which do not guarantee admission to any particular elementary school due to impaction.
Many homebuying Piggs on this site have become fixated on a handful or less of zip codes to house-shop in and do not realize that their kids can get the same programs or even programs not offered in those areas (you mentioned the IB program not being offered in SDUHSD) by shopping elsewhere for a home, NOT within a very expensive CFD.
You must know that college admission is what every student ultimately strives for. ALL CA high schools which are not “alternative schools” have the curriculum in place to prepare a student to satisfy his/her A to G requirements for CA public college entrance purposes. Paying exorbitant MR bonds for a “student experience” at a lower grade-level than 10th or 11th grade (where grades actually DO matter) is simply that, an “experience,” nothing more. Signing up to pay exorbitant MR bonds in 92130 for up to 40 years (on new construction) is over 3 times as long as it takes for a single student to work their way through the public school system! These thousands of extra dollars per year each owner in this “impacted” area send to the county treasurer every year will not even guarantee their children a seat in their local elementary schools! Since these bonds can add up to as much as 150K over their repayment period (in addition to the price of the home), there’s something very wrong with not having a guaranteed attendance for your children within the local schools serving an area which its MR bonds are used to fund local schools, in my book.
The acceptance into one of the colleges of the student’s choice late in their junior year (11th grade) is the culmination for all their hard work at the high school level. This is the entire reason for all students’ hard work in HS.
IMO, paying tens of thousands of extra dollars in the form MR bonds to live within boundaries to obtain a particular elem school or middle school “experience” is not worth the $$ as there are MANY fine elem and middle schools ALL OVER THE COUNTY where MR is not in existence. In addition, a SD County parent can send their HS student to one of seven (renowned for college-prep curriculum) private HS’s in this county for $9K – $20K per year and be done paying for it in four years, as opposed to paying MR for 20, 30 or 40 years.
