Conejo Board to Put Bond Measure on Ballot Again

Conejo Valley school trustees on Wednesday decided to give voters another chance to consider the $97-million bond issue they turned down last month.

Following a similar action Tuesday night by Moorpark trustees, the Conejo Valley Unified School District board voted unanimously to place the failed bond measure before voters again on April 14.

The bond measure failed by fewer than three percentage points to gain the necessary two-thirds majority in November. The measure shared the ballot with a hard-fought and unsuccessful recall measure targeting Thousand Oaks City Councilwoman Elois Zeanah.

Some at the meeting questioned the cost of the special election, which the county election department has estimated will cost $100,000.

And Jere Robings, president of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers, said he hopes the district will reassess its needs in spending the money.

“We support fixing roofs and repairing pipes, but swimming pools and tennis courts are not necessities,” he said.

Since the last bond proposal, Conejo Valley Unified School District officials have slightly altered the list of repairs they say are necessary, but have not announced changes in plans to spend money on swimming pools and tennis courts.

The changes include adding earthquake improvements and permanent classrooms throughout the district.

Other elements from the last measure include repairing classrooms, replacing wiring, installing air conditioning and providing additional classrooms for class-size reduction.

The money also is earmarked for updating computer technology and fixing plumbing, heating and leaky roofs.