MOORPARK : School Bond Issue OKd for Ballot

Moorpark voters will decide in November whether to approve a $25.5-million bond measure that would be used to build three new schools and renovate several existing ones.

The Moorpark Unified School District, which decided in a special meeting Monday to place the measure on the ballot, submitted the measure Tuesday to county election officials. The deadline for a measure to be placed on the ballot is July 6.

The bond measure needs a two-thirds vote to pass, and would increase property taxes an average of about $280 a year for a house with an assessed value of $200,000.

District officials had considered a $32-million bond measure, but decreased it by $6.5 million after meeting with architects, facilities managers and the district’s financial adviser. The meeting produced a precise list of facilities needed and a streamlined schedule for carrying out the projects, said Carmela Vignocchi, assistant superintendent for business services.

In addition to building three schools, district officials would use the bond money to renovate several existing schools, including Flory and Peach Hill elementary schools, Chaparral Middle School and Moorpark Memorial High School, Vignocchi said.

But funds from the measure will cover only some of the needs of the fast-growing 5,400-student district, which has been expanding at a rate of about 400 students a year.

District officials estimate that an additional $22 million will be needed for new construction, land and equipment.

Officials hope to get the additional money from state school building funds and from the lease and sale of surplus school property, Vignocchi said.