ELECTIONS / LAS VIRGENES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT : Backers of Failed Measure Predict Drop in Quality

A day after voters in the Las Virgenes Unified School District rejected higher property taxes to fund school improvements, supporters of the proposal predicted Wednesday that crowded classes will swell even further and overall quality in the suburban district will drop.

Proposition K fell 2% short of the two-thirds majority required for passage in a special election Tuesday, failing for a second time to pass muster with voters.

A similar measure failed by about 270 votes in November, 1991.

“My personal opinion is that we should have learned our lesson now,” said Jeff Kurtz, co-chairman of the Committee for Yes on Quality Education. “Two-thirds majority votes just are not going to work in this end of town.”

Uncertified tallies Wednesday showed 6,291 votes, or 63.5%, supporting the measure, and 3,608, or 36.4%, opposed.

Kurtz and other supporters said they were unsure how they next would try to ease the pain of several years of budget cuts.

In recent years, officials in the district--which enrolls 10,000 students between Calabasas and Westlake Village--have slashed budgets by nearly $3.5 million.

Money raised by Proposition K’s $150 annual tax increase would have been used to restore elective classes axed by budget cuts and hire extra teachers to reduce class size by an average of four students.

The affluent district is considered among the best in Southern California, but Donald Zimring, assistant superintendent, said the defeat of Proposition K “brings us that much closer to mediocrity.”

Zimring said the district very likely will be forced to cut another $500,000 to $1 million from its budget before the next academic year begins in the fall.

That could mean class size would grow to 40 or 41 students at the high school level and to 37 or 38 in elementary schools, Kurtz said.

Not so, said opponents, who complained that the tax increase was unfair because it placed additional financial burdens on already overtaxed homeowners.

They accused supporters of trying to sneak the measure onto the ballot instead of seeking suggestions from residents on how to turn the cash-strapped district around.

“It’s time they started talking to people,” Georgia Nadir said. “They should be asking, ‘If you don’t want to get taxed, what will you do?’ How many times can you get your head rammed against the wall before you realize that maybe it’s the wrong direction?”

Zimring and Kurtz, however, pointed out that the measure was supported by well over half of the voters and failed only because of the two-thirds requirement.

“This quiet, very silent minority is controlling all of us,” Kurtz said.

A law allowing school measures such as Proposition K to pass with a simple majority was vetoed last year by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Kurtz said the committee he heads may consider another tax increase, but only after the two-thirds requirement is abolished.

“It’s not winnable on a two-thirds situation,” he said.