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Last week, the Palo Alto Unified School District sold $120 million worth of bonds to pay for a sweeping expansion and renovation at the city's 17 aging, crowded schools.

It was the first financing round in the $378 million bond Measure A, which voters passed in June. (Watch video: Measure A supporters cheer results)

To track bond money as it's spent, the school board also approved the appointment of a seven-member oversight committee of volunteers Tuesday.

As required under California's Proposition 39, the Citizens' Oversight Committee — composed of local parents — will review audits and report to the public on spending.

Superintendent Kevin Skelly described the committee position as a relatively small time commitment — with a massive responsibility

The school district expects to spend at least $35 million annually, according to Co-Chief Business Official Bob Golton.

The bonds will be financed through local property taxes at or below the current rate of $44.50 per $100,000 assessed valuation, likely until 2042 or later, Golton said.

The committee members chosen to monitor spending and building have strong backgrounds in finance and construction administration.

They also have strong ideals.

"I have a point of view about public service that says people like me ought to do it," said Ray Bacchetti, a former school-board member and longtime civic volunteer. Bacchetti said he's lucky to live in the U.S. — and Palo Alto specifically — and wants future generations to benefit as he and his children have.

"One doesn't rest on laurels that others have created except at the risk of having them disappear from under you," he said.

Caroline Maser, the chief financial officer at a law firm, described public service as a way to break down the "us and them" mentality she thinks has eroded the nation's public spirit.

"You can't, as a citizen, sit around and complain about how the government works if you don't in some way participate and try to make it work well," she said.

Other members include Scott Darling, Gary Hornbeek, Deepak Kanungo, Jim McFall and Steve Shevick.

The bond measure passed with 78 percent approval June 3.

To ensure greater chances of success, the district had placed it on the ballot under Proposition 39, which allows lower voter approval for passage — 55 percent, rather than two thirds — but also holds the district more accountable to the public.

Under the proposition, the district cannot spend bond monies on salaries or operating expenses. It had to compile a list of intended projects before the vote.

And to ensure money is spent as promised, the proposition also mandates that a watchdog group of citizens be established.

The so-called Citizens' Oversight Committee is tasked with reviewing performance and financial audits and reporting to the school board and general public on spending.

The group fills the state requirement of having members who are active in a business, senior-citizens' or taxpayers' organization, a parent or a guardian of a student in Palo Alto schools, and a parent active in PTA or a school site council.

There's only one woman, but that's because few women applied, school board member Camille Townsend emphasized last Tuesday.

Terms on the committee last two years, and individuals can serve two terms, Golton said.

Looking ahead, spirits are high among school officials.

"It's a very strong group of people with very relevant knowledge, which is wonderful for our district," school board President Dana Tom said.

For its part, the district is mindful of earlier mistakes made under the prior $143 million bond Measure B, according to Tom. That measure, passed in 1995, was slowed by mismanagement that resulted in litigation between the district and construction firm. This time around, district officials have pledged to get it right, with better preparation and a dedicated staff rather than outside consultants managing the operations.

Yet if something goes wrong, the oversight committee will be in the position to catch it, Tom said. The committee meets quarterly, meaning only a few months would elapse between a mistake or wrongdoing and the committee detecting it, he said.

Of course, if the committee spots errors between its scheduled meetings, it should tell the board right away, he added.

"I would want to know if there [are] any findings of a problem as soon as possible," he said.

Ray Bacchetti

Profession: Retired. Former facilities manager at Stanford University; positions at Carnegie and Hewlett education foundations.

Requirement filled for committee: Member of a taxpayers' organization (Palo Altans for Government Effectiveness), senior citizen

Children in district: Three graduated from Gunn High School.

Joining the committee is a homecoming of sorts for Ray Bacchetti, who served on the school board from 1978 to 1983. He called those years "some of the best I've ever had."

Bacchetti has spent his working life at institutions that could be considered a "who's who" list of the Peninsula's educational community. That includes Stanford University, where Bacchetti oversaw construction and design; the Carnegie Foundation, where he studied the intersection of schools and foundations; and the Hewlett Foundation, where he was an education program officer.

A longtime volunteer, Bacchetti sees giving time as a way of giving back to a country and society that has treated him well.

"Those of us who are lucky enough to live in this country and in particular to live in Palo Alto shouldn't take it for granted. One doesn't rest on laurels that others have created except at the risk of having them disappear from under you," he said.

Why did you want to join the committee?

Education is one the ways we keep recreating democracy. ... [It is] a public trust, and we need to do the best job we can for the kids that are in school now and future generations. And secondly, handling public money is a public trust, and so these two things need to go together.

Can you talk about your experience in Palo Alto schools?

[During] my time on the board, we spent a lot of time closing schools. ... The consensus was the population wouldn't grow back beyond 7,000 [from its earlier high of 15,000]. ... If you had told us back then that school census would be back up to 11,000 or whatever it is now, we'd say, "You've got to be kidding me."

Scott Darling

Profession: General counsel for a software firm

Requirement filled for committee: At-large member

Children in district: Son enrolled in Preschool Family

It was an editorial in the Weekly — published just a day before the application deadline — that inspired Scott Darling to apply to the Citizens' Oversight Committee, he said.

"This is perhaps the most important volunteer job in the community right now, of hundreds of worthwhile opportunities in this volunteer-rich town," the editorial stated.

Darling agreed, with one added motive — his 4-year-old son, whom he hopes will one day benefit from good work financed by the bond measure.

For his son, Darling also slept over at a school's multipurpose room to gain a spot in the district's Preschool Family program. The program is also geared to teach moms and dad more about parenting.

Darling is the general counsel for Palo Alto-based Danger software firm, recently acquired by Microsoft. He's been involved in the firm's financial audits and is familiar with real estate and construction contracts, he said.

Is there an experience with rundown or crowded schools that inspired you to join the committee?

I was a public-school product, having grown up in Burlingame. I remember when Proposition 13 passed and buses were taken away and I had to walk to school. And the cafeterias were closed. We had large classrooms of 30 to 40 students.

Gary Hornbeek

Profession: Corporate controller for software firm

Requirement filled for committee: Parent currently in a PTA

Children in district: First-grader at Addison Elementary one toddler

Like his colleague Darling, committee member Gary Hornbeek said he decided to heed the call of duty after reading the editorial in the Weekly. Since January, when Hornbeek traded in a commute to San Francisco for working within city limits, he's been using time he gained for volunteer work, including serving as treasurer for Addison Elementary's PTA and coaching his son's T-ball team.

A former accountant and current controller for software firm PayCycle, Hornbeek has had much experience with financial audits, the committee's primary oversight role.

Hornbeek also has deep Palo Alto roots, with his mother growing up in Palo Alto and grandmother still residing here. He grew up in Davis and knows another veteran of the Davis school district who is now in Palo Alto — Assistant Superintendent Ginni Davis. She was Hornbeek's seventh-grade social-studies teacher out in the central valley, he said.

Is there an experience with rundown or crowded schools that inspired you to join the committee?

I remember when I was a kid and there was an elementary school on Center Drive. ... It closed and housing was developed. Now the 12 elementary schools [experience] ... overcrowding and overflowing. I'd love to see this bond help us [open] a 13th elementary.

What are you looking forward to in coming years, once the dust settles on building?

School bond measures are always interesting because they directly impact resident with kids and indirectly benefit those who don't because of property values. I really want to see the schools continue to be regarded as best in region.

Deepak Kanungo

Profession: Financial advisor

Requirement filled for committee: Parent of current student

Children in district: First-grader at Ohlone

Deepak Kanungo considers himself passionate about education. He's enjoyed school from childhood on through his study of astrophysics at Princeton University and during advanced study in finance and management at the London School of Economics.

But growing up in India, he saw how a lack of resources at rundown schools — particularly at needy public schools — hamper even great instructors and students.

"If you hamstring the teachers with poor infrastructure then you've limited them ... and their potential," he said.

So he believes in this bond measure and the sweeping overhaul it promises. He joined the committee to help support it, he said.

Kanungo has worked for more than a decade in financial services, both as a consultant to help firms perform better and as an entrepreneur. He also developed software that helps track and forecast whether large-scale programs will be within budget and meet timelines, he said.

He declined to state his current place of employment, saying he didn't want his employer to be construed as endorsing his private volunteering, but referred a reporter to his online profile, which lists him as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley.

Why did you want to join the committee?

The schools are good now, but we want to stay at the top of our game. The minimum is the infrastructure. [It provides] an environment for teachers to flourish.

Caroline Maser

Profession: Chief financial officer for law firm

Requirement filled for committee: Parent

Children in district: Fourth-grader at Duveneck Elementary and tenth-grader at Palo Alto High School

Caroline Maser has been active in schools before, working with PTAs. But what really moved her to join the committee was volunteering with the presidential campaign of candidate Barack Obama and realizing she wanted to give back more, she said.

She's used to citizens — particularly in Palo Alto — complaining about government ineffectiveness. The general view, she said, is that officials spend a lot without getting much accomplished.

The committee provided an opportunity to contribute, rather than just criticize, she said.

"Here's an opportunity to participate and see money was spent as intended."

The chief financial officer of Seattle-based law firm Karr Tuttle Campbell, Maser brings experience in budgeting and financial planning to the group. She also worked with a commercial property manager for a few years, she said.

Why did you want to join the committee?

The us-and-them mentality is part of what's wrong both locally and in the entire country. If something comes along and you have the skills to help out you should jump in and try to help.

What do you hope to accomplish?

I'll try my best to ensure that the dollars [are] spent exactly as citizens intended ... so next time there is a bond initiative or bond measure on the ballot, people feel confident if they vote for something that what they vote for goes as intended.

Jim McFall

Profession: Architect

Requirement filled for committee: Member of a business organization (Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce)

Children in district: Two graduates of Palo Alto High School

On strolls to Town and Country Village shopping center with his wife for coffee or a bite to eat, Jim McFall often cuts through the campus of Palo Alto High School. Looking at some of the older facilities, McFall has thought to himself that the campus needs sprucing up.

Joining the committee is a way for the father of two graduates to contribute to the district goals of improving facilities, McFall said. More than that, though, McFall was motivated by his desire to give back to the community after 23 years in Palo Alto, he said.

The committee will be tasked with reviewing performance audits and construction expenditures. As the owner of an eponymous architecture firm, McFall is used to examining expenditures, payment requests and change orders, he said. McFall Architecture, his Palo Alto firm, has handled a variety of projects, from law firm offices to private houses, he said.

What are you looking forward to in coming years, once the dust settles on building?

I'm hoping they've got adequate classroom space to meet their needs for future growth. [I hope] life-safety systems such as fire alarms and security systems will be appropriate and complete. [I hope] schools will be able to provide technology kids will need in the future and that distance learning and Internet learning continue to grow.

Steve Shevick

Profession: Chief financial officer of an alternative-energy startup

Requirement filled for committee: Active in a business organization (Mountain View downtown revitalization oversight committee)

Children in district: Eighth-grader at JLS Middle School, twelfth-grader and one graduate from Gunn High School

Trained by overseeing finance at Mountain View's Cobalt Biofuels, Shevick brings his fiscal skills to the committee, he said.

With three children in or graduated from Palo Alto schools, he's already volunteered on a committee that advised the school district on boundaries and on Palo Verde Elementary School's site council. He enjoyed working with schools and wanted to give back more, he said. The committee was a way to bring relevant skills while still working fulltime for the alternative-energy startup.

Is there an experience with rundown or crowded schools that inspired you to join the committee?

I've got three athletes, and I know in particular the sports facilities need help.

Particularly at Gunn, [the small gym leads to] an inability to run [simultaneous] practices for boys' varsity and girls' varsity. One practice is in the late evening ... [and] in my mind that's been very destructive of family life. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but it kind of dominates the family structure. One [child is] at practice 3 to 5 p.m. and the other is at practice from 7 to 9 p.m. It gets to be a fairly disjointed scene around the home all during basketball season.

What are you looking forward to in coming years, once the dust settles on building?

The thing that really has me excited more than any specific project is just the commitment of the community to improve ... and to keep the schools [excellent].

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