Voters back bonds, says school poll

The Los Angeles Unified School District, amid a $20-billion school construction program, is gearing up to put on the November ballot its fifth bond measure since 1997, officials said Friday.

The district commissioned a telephone poll in which 604 likely voters were asked whether they would support a $3.2-billion measure “that may appear on the November ballot” to build schools and early education centers, remove hazards and otherwise renovate aging campuses.

The results, which were presented to the Board of Education in closed session on Tuesday, suggest that voters would support the measure as strongly as they have in the past, with 68% likely to vote for it and 3% leaning toward doing so. The poll has a 4% margin of error.

“It was great news,” said Supt. David L. Brewer, adding that the school system desperately needs to transform older campuses into “state-of-the-art facilities, with wireless [networks for] computers and safe buildings.” He said that despite looming budget cuts, the district needed a permanent program to improve its schools.

“An organization doesn’t just shut down because it has a budget crisis,” he said. “This is a long-term goal.”

Board president Monica Garcia did not return a call seeking comment Friday.

“These people have lost touch with reality,” said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. “I’m not surprised by much anymore, but I am really amazed that they would have the nerve to even consider this with all of the money that they are already taking out of property owners’ pockets.”

Data provided by the Los Angeles County assessor showed that more than $420 million was collected from taxpayers last year for Los Angeles Unified obligations.

The Board of Education has not yet voted to place the bond on the ballot.

Darry Sragow, the political consultant who has run the campaigns for the district’s four prior construction and repair bonds, said his firm’s contract with the district has increased from $5,000 a month to $15,000 to do the advance work for a referendum in the fall.

In order to qualify for the ballot, the district would have to file with the county registrar-recorder by August.

Sragow said the results were not a foregone conclusion, given the district’s recent payroll problems and criticism from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The poll, conducted in February by Pineda Consulting at a cost of $15,000, showed strongest support among Latinos and voters under 35, with more than 80% saying they would vote for it. On the other extreme, 42% of Republicans surveyed said they would oppose it.

Many more voters saw a need for repairs than new campuses, with 69% saying they saw a “great need” for the former and 47% citing a need for the latter. However, those surveyed do not have a high opinion of the district’s performance or that of its leaders. Only 17% said they thought the school board was doing a good job; 19% approved of the superintendent’s performance; and 49% gave teachers good marks. Nearly one-third of respondents said L.A. Unified has been “getting worse” over the last year.

Voters passed four local bonds between 1997 and 2005 which, coupled with state funding, have given the district an unprecedented $20 billion to build schools and repair and renovate existing campuses. Last year the board moved $800 million earmarked for repairs to go instead toward new construction to compensate for increased building costs.

Still, the district will spend $7 billion in state and local funds on modernization and repair projects by 2012, according to Guy Mehula, chief facilities executive for the district.

When former Supt. Roy Romer characterized the 2005 bond measure as the last one needed, Mehula said he was talking solely about new schools.

Mehula said he does not have enough money to repair aging campuses.

“There’s a humongous need out there. Just to get back to what we would consider fair condition,” he said, “is about a $6 billion need.”

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evelyn.larrubia@latimes.com