SANTA ANA : Board Backs Prop. 1B on New Schools

The Santa Ana Unified School District board has narrowly approved a resolution supporting a $1-billion state bond issue that would permit school districts to build new schools and modernize old ones.

The Board of Education voted 3 to 2 in favor of the resolution, with Trustees Sal Mendoza, Audrey Yamagata-Noji and Robert W. Balen voting to support it. Trustees Tom Chaffee and Rosemarie Avila opposed the resolution, saying they objected to the principle of passing bond measures that will only burden state taxpayers with more debt.

District spokeswoman Diane Thomas said Santa Ana Unified is expected to benefit from the bond issue, although how much it would receive is unknown. The bond measure, known as Proposition 1B, is on next month’s statewide ballot.

Balen said the district desperately needs new schools, adding: “It’s paramount that we support the best interests of our children. I don’t see how anybody could deny that we need additional classrooms.”

Avila agreed that the district needs more class space, but she said that “we’re really putting ourselves in debt through bond issues. I don’t know that I have the information I need to balance the issues.”