Bond Issue to Ease Pressure on Antelope Valley School District

Westside Union School District officials and other supporters of an $8.5-million bond measure narrowly approved by voters said Wednesday that the measure’s passage will enable the Antelope Valley district to keep up with surging population growth.

Voters Tuesday gave Measure K a 67.7% victory margin, slightly more than the 66.6% margin required for passage. The 3,200-student elementary school district, which encompasses western sections of Lancaster and Palmdale and unincorporated territories west of those cities, will receive a matching $8.5 million in state funds as a result of the vote.

The money will be used to build two new schools, 27 new classrooms and a library, as well as for removal of asbestos from existing buildings, officials said. The bond measure will add an average of $31 a year to the property taxes of school district homeowners.

“With our explosive growth, people realized the need for relief in the school situation,” said Gary Fischer, a developer, hotel owner and co-chairman of the campaign to pass the measure. “They were willing to sacrifice the cost to good education.”

The district student body grew 13% this year and is expected to grow another 15% next year, officials said.

Fischer and Westside officials said other area school districts may become more interested in seeking similar measures as a result of Measure K’s success. The measure was endorsed by the Lancaster and Palmdale city councils and other elected officials.

But Fischer and other officials said passage of such initiatives remains difficult. Two Southern Kern County Unified School District bond measures for construction of school facilities were defeated Tuesday. The district includes Rosamond and surrounding areas northwest of Lancaster.