School bond issue doesn’t make the grade

Angelique Flores

Two years of work on a bond measure designed to bring in money to

repair aging schools resulted in a bitter defeat for Huntington Beach

City School District officials Tuesday night, as they just missed the

two-thirds voter majority needed to win.

The $25-million bond Measure S would have helped the district repair

and modernize its aging buildings, costing taxpayers $16 per $100,000 of

assessed value of a home, each year for 30 years. Unfortunately, the

measure garnered only 62.1% from the low 19.3% voter turnout.

“We’re not asking for a whole lot,” trustee Brian Garland said. “There

will always be some people who will vote ‘no’ on any tax increase.”

The average age of the schools is about 30 years, with some buildings

having been in use for 40 years. The main building at Dwyer Middle School

has been in use for 67 years.

The district needs about $41.6 million in repairs and upgrades,

including the replacement of broken and deteriorating water and sewer

systems, old roofs, classroom fire and smoke alarm systems, electrical

systems and air-conditioning systems. The schools also need to be

modernized to meet current technology standards.

The district is eligible for $20.8 million in state funds, but it must

match it with $4.1 million of its own first. That 20% match and the

remainder not paid for by state funds would have been covered by the

$25-million bond. The district is already in line to receive bond money,

once it’s passed by the state.

Tuesday night, opponents of the measure gathered at the beach for a

Beat the Bond bonfire.

“If this had passed, they would ask for another bond,” said Matthew

Harper, of the “The Vote No on S” campaign.

Harper, a trustee with the Huntington Beach Union High School

District, said the elementary school district ran a low-profile campaign

and didn’t get enough information out to voters. He called the bond

proposal “incomplete” because it didn’t list a detailed spending plan on

the ballot, didn’t include an independent oversight committee and didn’t

have a designated repair and replacement reserve.

Huntington Beach High School District’s $123-million school bond

failed in 1999.

The district now qualifies for hardship money from the state.”The

hardship won’t be enough to do what we need to,” Garland said.

District officials will probably consider bringing the bond measure

back on the ballot in the next general election in March or November 2002

for a 55% voter requirement, as the recent Proposition 39 would allow.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board,” Garland said.