Survey Completed on School Bond Election

A survey designed to help the Burbank school board decide whether to hold an election on a $90-million bond issue was completed this week, officials said.

“The residents were really willing to talk to us and gave us some very valuable information,” said Kent Price, owner and president of Price Research of San Ramon, hired by the Burbank Unified School District to conduct the survey of 400 randomly selected registered voters.

The results will be released at a board meeting next month. District officials do not expect to make a decision on whether to put the issue on a ballot until next year.

The telephone survey, conducted June 2-3 and 6-7, was held to find out whether residents would support a bond resolution to pay for the reconstruction. Interviewers spent about 15 minutes on each call, Price said.

The survey results will be analyzed by computer and presented to the school board in mid-July, said Price, whose company conducted 500 similar surveys for California school districts last year.

Meanwhile, another committee will be presenting its recommendation for an architect out of a field of 31 candidates at the next school board meeting on June 24. A third committee is working on financing options.

District officials estimate that the renovation of John Burroughs High School, which dates to 1928, will cost $41 million, including the replacement of windows, wiring, plumbing and the addition of classroom space for 2,500 more students.

The renovation of Burbank High School, which is six years older, would mean practically replacing it, except for the auditorium, and would cost about $51 million.