Survey Finds Support for School Bond Measure

A majority of local voters would support a bond measure to pay for improvements in the Temple City Unified School District’s facilities, a recently completed survey has found.

According to the survey, commissioned by the district and presented at a board meeting last week, 60% of voters polled said they “definitely” would support a bond measure to fund improvements and 23% said they “probably” would vote for it.

The measure would need a two-thirds majority to pass.

Despite the overwhelming support, the majority of those surveyed said they would approve annual property tax hikes of $40 to $60.

Such tax increases over the life of the bond would only net about half of the estimated cost of $43 million for the new buildings, code compliance and site improvements the district says it needs.

“We are considering doing it in phases [to spread the costs over time],” said Bill Brown, chief business official for the district.

The survey by George Baum and Co., which is advising the district on the bond measure, was administered in October using a sample of 400 local registered voters, Baum said.

The measure will be put to voters next April 14, June 8 or Nov. 3.