ELECTIONS : Camarillo Sharply Divided Over School Bond : Education: Early returns indicate a close outcome. The $55-million measure would fix sites in the Pleasant Valley district.

Camarillo voters split sharply Tuesday in deciding the fate of a $55-million bond measure for the renovation and expansion of schools in the Pleasant Valley School District, with early returns indicating a close outcome.

Bruce Bradley, assistant Ventura County voter registrar, predicted there would be a 37% turnout for the vote on Measure G, the 30-year school bond initiative.

As the close early returns came in, district officials remained hopeful the measure would succeed.

“It’s close, it’s really close,” said Dolores (Val) Rains, chairwoman of the school board. “I just hope it slides our way. I don’t even want to think about it if we don’t make it.”

The election marked the third time in five years that the district has attempted to raise funds by a multimillion-dollar bond election.

In June, 1991, the district tried to get a $75-million bond through, but fell short of the required two-thirds, or 66.7%, margin, winning just under 60% of the votes cast. Undaunted, the district tried again in November of that year with a smaller sum, $55 million, but again lost, this time pulling in 64.3% of the vote.

District officials decided to try it again this year despite worries about an unsettled Ventura County economy and the fate of the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station, which was recently added to a federal base closure list.

As worded on the ballot, the bulk of the $55 million was earmarked for the renovation or repair of the district’s aging schools--13 of which are 30 years or older.

Pushing hard for the measure in recent weeks was Howard Hamilton, the district’s associate superintendent.

“We have a difficult situation here,” Hamilton said. “We are at the point where our physical plant problems are going to start impeding our ability to educate.”

The community’s split over the bond issue was reflected Tuesday in the comments of voters as they left the polls.

“I can’t vote for this because I don’t believe that throwing money at the schools will help anything,” said one opponent, Constance McMullen-Rodewald, a 28-year Camarillo resident. “I have had children and grandchildren in this district and I have to say that I have not been impressed with the education they received.”

However, Kim Thomas a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, said she voted for the measure because she has seen first-hand the condition of the buildings on many of the district’s school sites.

“All you have to do is look around,” said Thomas, 40. “Clearly, you can see the need.”

District officials estimated during the campaign that the measure would cost homeowners about $2 per $100,000 of assessed property value each month. That means that the owner of a home worth $200,000 would pay about $48 a year.

Across the 7,000-student district, once spacious student libraries have been cut in half to provide extra classroom space.

Because many sites have not undergone a major electrical or plumbing upgrade since they were built--in some cases 30 years ago--school administrators have to carefully dole out use of the electricity in order to avoid shorting out whole wings of the school.

Another priority set by district officials was a provision to build covered lunch areas to provide shelter from summer sun and winter rains at the 13 school sites.

They also said three new elementary schools are needed to relieve crowding. District officials said 900 new students are expected to enroll when developers build and sell more than 1,800 new home sites in the eastern Camarillo area over the next four years.

The Camarillo vote was one of two elections in the county Tuesday. In Thousand Oaks, five candidates have vied for the fifth and unfilled seat on the City Council. Trudi Loh, Mike Markey, John Ellis, Ramaul Rush and Lance Winslow have all battled for the position. A sixth candidate, Ekbal Quidwai dropped out of the race and threw his support behind Loh.

Markey and Loh were leading the vote late Tuesday.

Staff writers Mary Pols, Tracy Wilson, Christina Lima and Desiree Dreeuws and correspondents Catherine Saillant and Lisa M. Bowman contributed to this story.