TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL : Irvine Schools Worth Tax Hike, Residents Say

They’re fearing the fallout these days, here at ground zero of the Orange County bankruptcy crisis.

With more millions sunk into the county’s failed investment pool than any other local community, Irvine residents say they are willing to raise taxes to offset the costly repercussions on schools and public safety, according to a new Times Orange County Poll.

“There’s no way we can get out of this mess without raising taxes,” said Arlene Hoop, 80, a retired social worker who was among those surveyed. “We’ve gotten into the mess and we have to get ourselves out of it.”

Overall, however, most poll respondents do not favor higher property taxes.

In the poll of 600 adults, residents of one of the nation’s original planned communities overwhelmingly cited the anything-but-planned financial crises of the county and city as the most troubling aspect of life in Irvine at the moment.

Between its city government and school district, the town of 120,000 had more than $300 million deposited in the county investment portfolio. Its third public governing body, the Irvine Ranch Water District, had another $300 million invested.

And here, among the neat homes, numerous parks and model schools of this leafy Orange County suburb, the financial debacle has hit home in an uncomfortably personal way, according to the survey, conducted March 12-15 by Mark Baldassare and Associates.

School district officials have said they are planning to make $3 million in cuts from next school year’s $100-million budget. Already, 30 Irvine school administrators and 120 temporary teachers have received notice that they might be laid off.

Overall, 41% of Irvine residents said they are aware of cuts in local services or school programs that will directly affect them or their families. For those with children in Irvine schools, three of every four expect a direct impact on their households. And many say they would be willing to contribute their time or money to help the schools stave off any negative effects.

Louis Baltierra, 44, the father of 13- and 7-year-old boys, worries that the crisis will force the district to lay off teachers or cut back on the innovative arts, music and science programs that enrich the lives of its students.

If it does, said Baltierra, a counselor supervisor for the state Department of Rehabilitation, “it could have a major impact on my sons’ futures.”

Many others apparently concur. About two-thirds of all Irvine residents--and a similar number of Irvine registered voters--said they favor a tax hike to keep schools at their current funding levels, compared to 53% in the county as a whole, according to a separate Times Orange County Poll conducted in January.

Among those with children attending Irvine schools, the percentage was even higher; nearly three of every four surveyed said they supported raising taxes to maintain funding for public schools.

“My belief is it wouldn’t hurt anybody to raise the sales tax half a cent,” said Renzo Marini, 46, a machine shop supervisor who has lived in Irvine six years. “I don’t agree with raising property taxes, but I would support a sales tax to help bail us out.”

Support was also strong for a tax increase to keep police and fire protection at current levels, with 57% overall expressing approval--and 59% of registered voters expressing approval. In the January poll, 48% countywide supported a tax hike to maintain such services.

Many Irvine residents also said they would be willing to donate time or money to help the school district, which had more than $105 million in the troubled investment fund. The portfolio’s multimillion-dollar losses led to the county’s bankruptcy Dec. 6.

More than four in 10 of those surveyed--and 58% of those with school-age children--said they would be willing to pitch in to do chores at local schools if maintenance workers had to be laid off because of the crisis. Another 40% of all respondents--and 63% of parents--said they would donate cash to the schools, as long as the money were earmarked to replace funds lost in the fiscal crisis.

“I’m struggling, just as much as the school districts or cities are,” said Rusty Guinther, 48, a real estate salesman who lives in Irvine’s Turtle Rock neighborhood. “But if there’s a need in the school, if they need a box of Kleenex or a box of pencils, I’ll work a little harder to get it for them. I can do that.”

Guinther added a proviso, however: He would help out, he said, as long as he is convinced that the school district has first done what it can to cut costs.

Others, though, such as Marilyne Dwyer, 40, who moved from Tustin to Irvine in October and does not have children in the schools, ask why they should now have to contribute more to help extricate the district and the city from the crisis.

“Let the county supervisors and whoever else got us into this situation dip into their own pockets,” retorts Dwyer, an office manager for a mortgage banking firm. “If they need someone to clean the toilets at the school district now, let the supervisors clean the toilets. You just don’t go to Vegas and gamble with money you don’t have.”

Irvine residents, many of whom noted that the caliber of the schools helped draw them to the city, clearly fear the worst in the wake of the bankruptcy. More than eight in 10 expect the quality of the Irvine Unified School District to drop, with 43% predicting that the crisis will hurt the schools “a lot.”

Some say they fear the impact of the crisis on schools, even though their own children are grown and gone.

“I’m very concerned about the schools,” said Hoop, the retired social worker and onetime school volunteer. “Just from a practical point of view, that’s one of the selling points of this community, real estate-wise. I’m also extremely concerned about the schools, period.”

Before the county’s financial problems, the poll showed, residents here prided themselves on the reputation of the district, with three in four saying Irvine schools were better than those in the rest of the county.

In the aftermath of the bankruptcy, the community fears that change is inevitable. Only 46% expect Irvine schools to outperform those throughout the county a year from now, with 37% believing they will be about equal to those elsewhere.

Joyce Payne, 50, said she worries that Irvine school officials will be forced to drop or curtail such extras as the district’s excellent sports programs.

“Sports help keep kids out of trouble,” said Payne, an executive secretary whose two stepsons are following her own two children through the Irvine school system.

“Even without the bankruptcy, we already had to pay for sports camps and other things,” Payne said. “I’m afraid the costs will go up now, or they may just decide to cancel some sports.”

Still, only a few have seriously considered pulling their children from public schools and switching them to private. More than eight in 10 said they had not considered that option.

Along with fears for the schools, Irvine residents expect the bankruptcy to lower their quality of life, with one in four saying it will be hurt “a lot” and nearly half predicting it will be affected “somewhat.” But many also expressed faith in the city’s ability to emerge from the crisis.

“With the kind of folks that are in the community, I think the city and the school district will recover,” said Baltierra, who has lived in Irvine’s Woodbridge neighborhood about six years. “But the time frame in recovery will be based, I think, on the kind of support they get, either through the tax situation or other plans people come up with to resolve the crisis.”

Despite the bankruptcy, though, and their views that it will hit Irvine hard, residents surveyed were overwhelmingly favorable about the community and the lifestyle it offers.

Among Orange County communities Baldassare has surveyed in recent years, residents of only two--Laguna Beach and the South County foothills--expressed higher satisfaction with their areas, the pollster said. Irvine tied with Newport Beach for resident satisfaction.

Overall, 75% have a very favorable view of Irvine, the poll showed, with homeowners and residents with schoolchildren even more positive. Half, in fact, said they would rather live in Irvine than anywhere else in the world.

* PARENTS FEAR FOR SCHOOLS: Two couples with children in Irvine schools discuss concerns about bankruptcy’s effect. A18

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How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare and Associates. The telephone survey of 600 adult residents of Irvine was conducted March 12-15 on weekend days and weekday nights, using a computer-generated random sample of listed and unlisted numbers. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus four percentage points.

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Bankruptcy Comes Front and Center

The county bankruptcy is easily the biggest problem Irvine adults perceive facing the city, and that is particularly true of those with children in school. Parents are more likely than others to say they have a great deal of confidence that the school board can solve the problem.

What do you think is the biggest problem facing Irvine today?

All Child in adults school Bankruptcy, financial crisis 39% 52% Growth 13% 11% Traffic 7% 7% Crime, gangs 7% 4% Public schools 4% 8% Housing costs 2% 1% Other 8% 4% Nothing, don’t know 20% 13%

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How much confidence do you have in the ability of the Irvine Unified School Districtboard to solve the Irvine public schools’ financial crisis?

All Child in adults school Great deal 15% 23% Some 48% 47% Very little 19% 20% None 6% 7% Don’t know 12% 3%

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STILL THE PLACE

Despite the city’s problems and residents’ concern with the fiscal crisis, Irvine is overwhelmingly viewed very favorably as a place to live. Most city residents think that Irvine in five years will be no different than it was before the financial crisis. In the mean time, they have no intention of moving.

Overall, what is your view of Irvine as a place to live?

All Child in adults school Very favorable 75% 79% Somewhat favorable 23% 18% Somewhat unfavorable 2% 3% Very unfavorable 0% 0%

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Five years from now, do you think that Irvine will be a better place or a worse place to live than it was before the financial crisis, or will there be no difference?

Irvine Orange County* Better place 17% 29% No difference 56% 42% Worse place 22% 24% Don’t know 5% 5%

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Has the financial crisis made you think about moving out of Irvine?

Irvine Orange County* Very seriously 3% 12% Somewhat seriously 11% 13% Not moving 86% 75%

* Asked all county residents about county as a place to live, chance of moving

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RATING SERVICES, INSTITUTIONS

Irvine residents are very satisfied with three of four city features, while many are uncertain about the schools. Most have favorable impressions of three of four city institutions, but half have no opinion about the Irvine Co.

How satisfied are you with each of these features of your community?

Don’t Very Somewhat Not know Parks and outdoor recreation 73% 22% 2% 3% Police protection 67% 26% 2% 5% Stores, restaurants, 56% 36% 6% 2% entertainment Public schools 43% 23% 6% 28%

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Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable impression of these institutions in Irvine, or don’t you know enough about them to have an opinion?

Don’t Favorable Unfavorable know UCI 79% 5% 16% Irvine Unified School District 62% 8% 30% Irvine city government 53% 12% 35% The Irvine Company 38% 16% 46%

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POLITICAL ALIGNMENT

Many Irvine adults describe themselves as conservative and Republican, reflecting a similar makeup to the county. Political orientation Very liberal: 5% Somewhat liberal: 18% Middle-of-the-road: 34% Somewhat conservative: 31% Very conservative: 12% Party registration Republican: 59% Democrat: 33% Independent/other party: 8% Source: Times Orange County Poll