Anti-Measure A fliers reach mailboxes

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- One of numerous Measure A campaign fliers arriving at

homes is not like the others.

The mailer -- sent by a group calling itself the Citizens for Equitable

Taxation -- urged the 4,000 residents who received it to vote “no” on the

proposed $110-million school bond.

The small group of Newport Coast residents are contacting only voters in

Newport-Mesa’s five Mello-Roos districts: Newport Coast, Newport Ridge,

Bonita Canyon, Castaways and Harbor Cove.

In Mello-Roos districts, residents pay a special tax to pay off bonds

that fund public improvements, such as roads, post offices and schools.

“We’re just trying to get the word across to the voters that will be most

impacted what will happen,” said Al Willinger, the Newport Coast resident

spearheading the opposition group.

Newport-Mesa voters on Tuesday will decide whether public schools will

receive $110 million to repair aging facilities.

Citizens for Equitable Taxation formed a month ago and immediately began

to fight the school bond, claiming it would be an unfair layer of

additional taxes for residents in Mello-Roos districts. Because the group

formed recently, it did not submit a statement for the ballot.

However, on the single-page flier sent to every home in the five

Mello-Roos neighborhoods, the group outlined several major points of

argument against the bond.

First, the mailer tells residents that while the average homeowner pays

1% of the assessed value of their home, those in Mello-Roos districts pay

about 60% more in real estate taxes. The literature also highlights

Capistrano Valley Unified School District’s decision not to include the

residents of Mello-Roos districts in its school bond tax.

Next, the flier mentions the $50 million the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District would spend in implementation -- planning, inspection, interim

housing and other services. The flier alleges that $50 million is twice

as much as other districts would spend on such costs.

District officials, however, have said those costs are in line with those

in other districts.

In the Santa Ana Unified School District, where voters approved a

$147-million school bond in November 1999, $43 million had already been

set aside for similar implementation costs, said Don Stabler, an

assistant superintendent for Santa Ana Unified.

“Ours is $147 million and we’re talking a minimum of $43 million [in

implementation costs],” Stabler said.

Although bond supporters said they recognize the difficulty of getting

the required two-thirds voter approval, they said the new anti-Measure A

group does not pose a threat to their campaign.

“We think the small group of people who advocate this position are not

representative of citizens in those communities,” said Mark Schultheis,

co-chairman of the bond campaign committee. “They want to avoid any tax

at any cost, which is what they wrote to us in a letter in December.”

Willinger said that based on calls he has received, he feels the group

has support within the Mello-Roos districts.

“I’ve had several phone calls indicating the support in those

communities, but one never knows until ballots are cast,” he said.