. . . and on 53: School Bonds

Close to 4.5 million children already attend public schools in California. By 1991, just five short years, that number will surge past 5 million, fed by both population growth and a baby boomlet.

Proposition 53, an essential part of Gov. George Deukmejian’s ambitious $5-billion school financing program, will help pay for thousands of additional classrooms to cope with that surge. We urge a yes vote on Proposition 53 on Nov. 4.

The ballot proposition would authorize an $800-million bond issue for new schools, for modernization of old schools and for insulating and installing air conditioning in year-round schools. Having enough classrooms ready for students when students are ready for school will require both construction and rehabilitation and still leave some districts dependent on on year-round schedules to avoid turning anyone away.

Shifting from the traditional September-to-June calendar to a year-round calendar will provide the speediest relief for overcrowding. That change alone can increase the capacity of a single school by up to 25%. But children and teachers who work year-round should not have to endure sweltering days without air conditioning and the bond issue would solve that problem.

Overcrowding forces students to attend schools far away from home; to go to classes in bungalows, trailers and other temporary facilities; to restrain their play at crowded recesses held in shifts, and even to graduate in split commencements. Without the relief provided in Proposition 53, those problems, and worse, would thwart California’s rising new commitment to the highest standards of achievement in its public schools. We strongly urge a yes vote on Proposition 53.