Board Looks at Draft of Bond Measure

MOORPARK — School board members say they don’t mind putting a school bond measure before voters in November as long as the taxpayers know in advance what they will be getting for their money.

Tuesday night, trustees of the Moorpark Unified School District got their first look at the draft of a general obligation bond measure that, according to Supt. Tom Duffy, would be used to purchase land, and construct and improve facilities.

The amount the district hopes to raise has not been determined. However, Duffy said the district’s needs exceed $25 million, and he is trying to get as much of those funds as he can from other sources, including the state.

To raise the funds, homeowners could pay as much as $75 per year for the next 25 years, he said.

Board President Tom Baldwin said other districts in the county have surveyed their residents, and the consensus is that they are willing to tax themselves up to $50 for school bonds.

Duffy is working to find a “manageable dollar amount” and will ask the board later this month to act. For the election to go forward in November, the board must pass four resolutions, including one to establish a bond cap, by July 3.

Baldwin and trustee Clint Harper both asked that voters be presented with a detailed list of projects as part of the measure.

“I’m working on those now,” Duffy said. “Every school has needs.”

Flory Elementary Principal Teresa Williams said her school is hoping that a bond measure will pay for a new library. Built in 1938, Flory is the oldest school in the district.

“I would assume it would be a larger facility than the existing library,” she said. “We also have a mini-computer lab, and that would probably be extended.”

Voters in five school districts in Ventura County passed bond measures this year, including $57 million in the Oxnard elementary district and $81 million in Ventura. Four others, including Moorpark, are considering such measures.

But Duffy said the move by Moorpark is not a case of bond fever.

“A strategic planning session was done a year ago January. Five things came out of that session, including funding. One of the recommendations from the Strategic Planning Committee was to place a bond in front of the voters,” he said.

“The economy is very positive right now,” he added.

Voters in Moorpark have not approved a school bond measure since they passed an elementary school bond in the 1960s. The last time voters rejected a school bond measure was in 1990.