Supporters of School Bond Test Voter Mood

As the campaign for a $97-million school bond issue in Thousand Oaks gears up, consultants are taking a quick phone poll to test the mood of local voters.

Do residents support a bond issue to pay for repairs to aging schools? Would they back it if some of the money were used to reduce class sizes or buy new computers?

“It’s to get a feel for what the community will support and what they won’t,” said Pat Phelps, who co-chairs a committee of residents pushing for the bond’s passage.

The telephone poll of 400 residents, conducted by a Bay Area-based consulting firm, will give Phelps and other backers a better idea how to pitch their position to voters, who will decide the bond’s fate in November.

Although the survey will not be finished for weeks, Conejo Valley Unified School District officials hope that the results mirror those of a less specific survey conducted this spring. That poll, which also included questions about city services and the local park district, found that 74% of those contacted said they would approve spending more tax money to improve local schools.

The support found in the earlier survey also appeared to be broad-based. Of the people who favored increased school spending, 70% did not even have children, Supt. Jerry Gross said.

“We’ll see what we come out with this time,” he said.

The bond measure--which will appear on the November ballot as Measure Q--will need approval by a two-thirds majority to pass.

The new survey will be conducted by Price Research, which has performed similar services for other local school districts in what has come to be a banner year for bond elections. In January, Price reported that 69.3% of Ventura residents would support a school bond. In June, Ventura voters approved an $81-million bond issue--by a 74.8% margin.

Phelps said her committee will scrutinize the survey results, looking for patterns that will help the group tailor its campaign. Do particular kinds of residents--say, people of a certain age or sex--back the bond issue, while other groups don’t? The information will come in handy when volunteers begin phoning Thousand Oaks residents to drum up support.

“If we see a trend, we’ll work on it,” she said.

If passed, the bond issue would help repair and modernize the Conejo Valley district’s schools. Administrators are drawing up a list of projects, including air-conditioning installation and bathroom repairs. A final tally is expected after the start of classes in the fall.

Consultant Dale Scott, whose firm has been hired as the district’s financial advisor on the bond issue, said the survey will explore just how thoroughly the public understands the issues. His firm, Dale Scott & Co., hired Price Research for the survey.

“What we’re hoping to learn is how much people are aware of the needs of the district,” Scott said.