GARDEN GROVE : Council Approves High School Bingo

Bingo games on high school campuses have gotten the green light from the City Council, but school authorities must approve the games before they can begin.

After an hour of testimony and debate, the council Monday voted, 4-1, to amend the city’s bingo ordinance to allow nonprofit organizations, such as school booster clubs, to hold bingo games on campus to benefit extracurricular activities.

Mayor W.E. (Walt) Donovan cast the sole dissenting vote.

If the council approves the ordinance, the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education also would have to authorize the games. The amendment is expected to come before the council for a first reading on Feb. 5.

“We’ve gone through all the petty fund-raisers that reach a few people. We want to reach thousands,” said Marge Huhta, speaking in favor of the change. Gerald Tolman, a mathematics teacher at Fountain Valley High School and a former candidate for the school board, compared the athletics programs at his school, where bingo is permitted, with local schools’.

“It’s like comparing the standard of living of the United States with that of Ethiopia,” he said.

Councilman Francis L. Kessler expressed concern about what he called the “bingo craze” but finally voted in favor of the games.

Donovan said he was “philosophically against gambling. I’m going to vote against this because I don’t think it’s the way to teach our children about how to make money.”

The motion approved by the council has several restrictions. For example, games must be played at high schools with adequate parking and must not exceed five hours; each group may play no more than one night a week; and a 1% cut of the gross must be given to the city to pay police to monitor the games.

There are three active bingo games in Garden Grove, operated by the Elks Lodge No. 1952, the Boys Club and the Jewish Community Center. The annual income of the largest game, run by the Elks, was estimated at the council meeting to be about $150,000.