Assembly OKs School Bond Item

Driven by a Republican change of heart, the Assembly on Thursday gave school districts, colleges and universities something it had blocked in the fall--a chance to ask voters to approve $3 billion in construction bonds for badly needed campus repairs, expansion and modernization.

Although the bond measure still faces several hurdles before making it onto the March 26 ballot, Assembly members from both sides of the aisle agreed that the state’s educational institutions desperately need the money and vowed to work hard for the next three months to convince voters to get behind the proposal.

“This is well deserved and long overdue and now it’s up to the voters to decide,” said Assemblyman Bruce McPherson, a Santa Cruz Republican who was credited with playing a key role in engineering the about-face by his caucus on the issue.

This fall, many Republicans in the Assembly had wanted to link the education bonds with bonds to build prisons. Democrats wanted the two issues voted on separately. The disagreement kept bonds for either purpose from gaining the 54 votes needed to get on the ballot.

During the fall recess, however, many legislators were lobbied hard by school board members, administrators and education groups such as the California Teachers Assn. McPherson also pressed his fellow Republicans on the issue.

“We need to look at these issues individually,” he said. “We all have our priorities and my priority is education.”

On Thursday, the bond measure passed with 68 of 74 votes cast and went to Gov. Pete Wilson, who is expected to sign it.

On Monday, the Assembly and Senate must decide on the exact language of required companion legislation that could be controversial because it would guarantee the measure another chance on the November ballot if it fails in March.

That has kept some education groups from celebrating. “We’re excited, but we’re just holding off until everything’s done,” said Dennis D. Meyers, a lobbyist for the Assn. of California School Administrators.

If approved by voters, the measure would be the first education-related construction bond issue to pass since 1992. It would net the state’s three systems of higher education about $975 million; kindergarten-through-12th-grade schools would divvy up about $2 billion.

Assemblyman Robert Campbell (D-Martinez), the sponsor of the measure, said that even though it would be the largest ever for school construction, it would only put a slight dent in what will be a $17 billion to $30 billion backlog of construction needs over the next two decades.

Some observers say the school bond would have a better chance of passing in November. But Bobbie Metzger, whose political consulting firm will run the bond campaign, said the right kind of effort can succeed in March.

“Obviously there’s a fight ahead,” she said. “But we really believe that if we educate people . . . that the economy needs good schools and that without good schools businesses won’t locate here . . . people will vote for it.”

If the measure passes, the Los Angeles Unified School District would be guaranteed only $10 million, although the district will need $150 million to $250 million more to pay for pending projects, including construction of the Belmont Learning Complex near downtown and a new elementary school in Bell, and acquisition of land for a school in South Gate.

“We want the thing to happen, and we think it can be worthwhile to us,” said Dom Shambra, the district’s director of planning and development.

The Long Beach Unified School District would get more than $16 million, the largest amount of any school district in the county. Half of that money would be spent at Woodrow Wilson High School to replace the roof, upgrade wiring to allow computers to be installed and make the facility accessible to the disabled.

“It’s long overdue and we’re ecstatic about the prospect,” said Supt. Carl Cohn.

The Santa Ana Unified School District, one of the state’s fastest-growing and most crowded, would get at least $40 million for projects that include an innovative effort to build a new intermediate school in a crowded area of town.

Much of the money that the college and university systems would receive would be spent on seismic retrofitting. UCLA would use about $15 million in bond money to strengthen Haines Hall, a brick classroom building that is one of the oldest on campus.