Wanted: Individuals interested in serving as a member of the Manteca Unified School District’s Measure M Oversight Committee.

The district, in a press release, announced applicants are needed to fill the seats that recently became vacant. However, the announcement did not indicate how many vacancies are available but indicated that committee members have to be registered voters and reside within the boundaries of the school district which include Lathrop, French Camp and Weston Ranch which is part of the City of Stockton’s jurisdiction, and some unincorporated San Joaquin County outlying areas.

According to the January 2012 update report by the oversight committee, the members who meet bi-annually were Lisa Dixon, Sharon Hathaway, Raymond Martinez III, Bridget Nichols, Jennifer O’Day, Robert Serpa, and Ray Tolle.

To obtain an application and to find out more information, those who are interested in joining the committee can call the Business Service Department of the school district office at (209) 858-0728.

The Bond Oversight Committee was formed “to ensure that the expenditures of bond measures are in strict conformity with the law; that taxpayers directly participate in the oversight of bond expenditures, and that members of the committee alert the public to any waste or improper expenditure of school construction bond money.”

Among the projects that have been funded by Measure M monies include the 18,383-square-foot French Camp Joint-use Multi-purpose gym which was completed in January 2011. Lathrop High School’s Career Technology Education Building project will also rely on Measure M funds for its completion with additional money coming from Career Technology Education funds, according to the oversight committee January 2012 update report. The building will incorporate an Ag Wood, Ag Metal, Small Engine Fabrication shop, two intro-veterinarian classes, and an ornamental horticulture laboratory green house which will give students opportunities “to learn with modern, up-to-date equipment currently being used in the agricultural industries.”

Measure M is a general obligation fund approved by the voters in the school district area during the general election in March 2004. The law mandates the establishment by the district Board of Trustees an oversight committee “to inform the public at least annually in a written report, concerning the expenditure of the Measure M Bond proceeds.” Committee members serve a two-year term and are appointed by the Board of Trustees.