Passing school bond is a tough prospect

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- A school bond will be a tough, but not impossible sell,

if the district decides to ask residents to pay for campus improvements.

“The chamber is looking at it right now. We’re behind it if it’s

responsibly planned out,” said Doug Stuckey, a spokesman for the Newport

Beach Chamber of Commerce. “The district needs to remember that only a

small percentage of the people paying the tax will have children in the

schools. The majority of it will be paid by others.”

Julie Kramer of Costa Mesa is one of those others.

“I know the schools are in horrible disrepair,” she said. “It’s something

that has to be done, but I’m not sure a bond issue is the answer.”

Although she does not have children, Kramer said that she hates to think

of children, the future of this country, going into those buildings each

day.

These sentiments mirror a public opinion survey done in Newport-Mesa last

year by Larry Tramutola, a public opinion consultant hired by the

district.

The results of the telephone survey of 540 registered voters in the area

showed that 72% of them could be convinced to vote for a tax increase to

repair the aging schools.

As reassuring as that may sound to those hoping to pass a bond, when

Tramutola presented these results to the school board, he cautioned that

it may not be easy to pass.

The 72% possible approval rating left 28% opposed to a tax increase of

any kind -- a tight margin for a vote that requires a two-thirds vote to

pass.

And since the survey was conducted the total amount needed to repair the

schools has jumped from $127 million to $163 million.

The district will need all the votes they can get if they hope to

overcome the lingering distrust of the community following the bankruptcy

and embezzlement scandals of the past years.

“The school district always leaves a bad taste in my mouth,” said Paul

Lamas, a certified public accountant in Costa Mesa. “This sounds like

poor business practice to me. They should be keeping up with the

maintenance, not letting it go until they have this unmanageable amount.”

While Lamas represents one segment of the electorate, with his strict

antibond view, there are two other broad categories into which voters

fall.

First there is the polar opposite of Lamas, those who feel anything and

everything should be done to improve education and the schools.

“I think it’s a must for survival,” said Ed Fawcett, president of the

Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce. “I think it’s a must in order to make the

improvements that the schools need and that the schools and children

deserve.”

Phil Arst, president of the Community Association Alliance, agreed. He

said the 5,000 homeowners that his group represents are strongly in favor

of strengthening schools, even if it means a bond.

That leaves the third, and possibly largest, percentage of the electorate

-- those who need some convincing.

“As a homeowner, I’m obviously concerned about my tax bill, so I would

have to balance that against the impact I think quality education and

schools have on a community,” said Bill Turpit, board member of the

Latino Business Council in Costa Mesa. “There is some amount I would be

willing to pay to ensure that the Newport-Mesa district has high quality

facilities.”

Turpit said he supports the district’s lengthy and open study of the

state of school disrepair, as well as the possibility of a bond, with the

stipulation that there is adequate community input and control of the

funds.

“I think that there is a good bit of concern that if we raise a whole lot

of money that it not be an opportunity for the school district to spend

money wildly,” he said. “So there has to be a strong control mechanism.”

If the bond is to be successful, advocates must take residents’ cautious

attitudes into consideration, Stuckey said.

“I grew up here. I went to Harbor. I know it’s needed,” he said. “It’s

one of the issues where as much as you hate to see a tax raise, you know

it needs to be done -- in a smart way.”

Which is exactly what he plans to do in cooperation with the chamber.

“I think it is the business community as a whole that is going to push

this bond measure through,” Stuckey said.

Stuckey has two points he plans to drive home to residents, starting with

the obvious -- property values.

“It is the easiest way to raise property values,” he said. “Schools

dictate property value.”

The second hook he plans to use is the lack of preparation for the

business world Newport-Mesa youth are receiving.

“We’ve been hearing from employers that kids are not ready to be in the

real world,” he said. “They haven’t had access to the technology

necessary -- that’s what we’re going to have to push through.”