School Bond Backers Say Stakes High

You will forgive Pleasant Valley school officials if they sound somewhat anxious, if not downright desperate, about next month’s bond election.

Four times since 1991 they have asked Camarillo voters for money to help build new schools and shore up crumbling facilities, and four times they have been rejected at the polls.

They have come tantalizingly close to victory. Each of the previous school bond measures has won clear support from a majority of voters. But each has fallen percentage points shy of the two-thirds threshold needed for passage.

Now comes a fifth try on Nov. 4, and campaign supporters say the stakes are higher than ever.

Campuses in the Camarillo district are bulging with students, and there is not enough classroom space to push any further with a statewide effort to shrink class sizes in the primary grades, officials said.

Eleven of the district’s 14 schools are more than 30 years old, and many need extensive renovation and modernization.

With so many bond issues on the ballot--five Ventura County districts are seeking a record $197 million next month--officials say this election could be their last, best chance for tapping the deep pool of money needed to solve a range of problems created by aging schools and surging enrollment.

“This is a watershed issue, it just has to happen,” said Howard Hamilton, associate superintendent of the Pleasant Valley School District. “And I’ve got a concern that if it doesn’t pass, and all of the surrounding districts are successful, we will then be at a significant disadvantage when it comes to educating our kids.”

Drawing a lesson from a string of defeats at the ballot box, supporters of the $49-million measure are doing some things differently this time.

They have hired a political strategist and are enlisting the aid of community groups to help spread the word about Measure T and get out the vote come election day.

There is no organized opposition to the bond measure. Still, taxpayer advocate Jere Robings said each measure on the November ballot deserves a close look to ensure the additional money is needed and will be put to good use.

“As a taxpayer organization, we are always cognizant of the taxpayers who are burdened and who simply can’t afford additional costs on their tax bills,” said Robings, head of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers. “But at the same time we still recognize the needs of schools at this time.”

On average, the bond would cost residents about $2 a month for every $100,000 in assessed property value. That money would pay back the cost of borrowing the $49 million.

To persuade voters to open their wallets, campaign supporters are busy telling residents about the need for bond money, about the old pipes and corroded drinking fountains and worn roofs that plague the bulk of the campuses in the Pleasant Valley district.

Most classrooms lack the wiring needed to add computers and keep pace with even the most basic of technological advances, such as connecting to the Internet. None of the schools has air-conditioning or sheltered lunch areas.

To keep up with growth and class-size reduction, about $3 million of the bond would be used to add 61 classrooms--mostly on the west and central parts of town. Another $25 million would go to build two elementary schools in the booming Pitts Ranch and Santa Rosa Valley areas.

Without an infusion of cash in this post-Proposition 13 era, officials say the district will have to continue digging into its general fund just to pay for basic upkeep--a move that eats away at educational programs.

Moreover, district officials say they will be forced to consider double-sessions or a year-round schedule to carve out classroom space for a rising tide of new students.

“What we really need is a community investment in bringing the schools up to speed so that we don’t have to rely on bake sales to fund our educational needs,” said Gerry Hamor, principal of Dos Caminos Elementary School, which stands to receive a $1.6-million boost if the bond passes.

“These buildings are now reaching the point where they need major infrastructure repairs,” he said. “The issue is to get folks to see the need and support the measure before it becomes an emergency.”

Of course, that is easier said than done.

While that need has been apparent to most voters in the past four elections, there has not been enough support to push the measure over the two-thirds hump.

The district went before voters twice in 1991 and two more times in 1995. The measure came closest to passage in June 1995, receiving 65.8% of the vote.

In that election, there were several pockets of the city where 70% or more of the voters supported the bond, including the sprawling Leisure Village retirement community.

But there were also several pockets where support hovered around 60%. And only 58% of absentee voters favored the measure.

Elections chief Bruce Bradley said no school district in the county has ever gone to the voters as many times as Pleasant Valley. And with low voter turnout projected for Nov. 4, Bradley said it makes it all the more important that each precinct provide solid support.

“When I talked to school officials, they said the need didn’t go away just because they lost the election,” Bradley said. “But you really have to wonder when voters are going to say enough is enough.”

Knowing the stakes are high, supporters of the measure are leaving nothing to chance.

They are asking for less money this election--$49 million contrasted with $55 million the past three times--to make the bond more palatable for voters. They are aggressively lobbying absentee voters and digging deeper for votes in areas where they have generated solid support.

And for the first time they have conducted a survey to gauge their chances of success at the polls.

A poll of 400 registered voters conducted this summer concluded that 77% of those surveyed would vote for the bond once given specific information on the district’s needs.

“Our phone polls do indicate that if people voted the way they told us they are going to vote, we would win,” said Gerry Rubey, the campaign’s political consultant. “I think it’s going to be very close. But we’re just not going to let up whatsoever in these last three weeks.”

The campaign in support of Measure T--Citizens for Better Schools--reported contributions of $3,800 during the reporting period that stretches from July to late September.

Overall, campaign officials expect to spend about $22,000 on fliers, consultants’ fees and other expenses.

Campaign treasurer Roger Lund said there is a well-documented need for that money in Camarillo. With continued growth and the state’s emphasis on smaller class sizes, Lund said it’s time for residents to make an investment in the future, both for the children and the city.

“For the price of an In-N-Out burger once a month, we can have a couple of new schools, plenty of new classrooms to keep class sizes down and a whole range of modernization so that our schools aren’t falling apart,” said Lund, a local attorney and city planning commissioner.

“The district has done a real good job of keeping the schools looking good, but once you go in it’s very obvious that things are in need of repair,” he added. “We’re not talking anything fancy like gold-painted door knobs. We’re just talking some basic care where it’s needed.”

Tour Dos Caminos Elementary School with Principal Gerry Hamor and he can point out a lot of basic needs.

Dos Caminos is the district’s overflow school, the place where students are sent when there is no more room in neighborhood schools. The school has lost use of its auditorium because it was needed for classroom space.

With another subdivision soon scheduled to come on line, hundreds more students are expected to make their way to the campus in coming years. School officials say fees generated by new development don’t come close to covering the cost of building new schools.

In the meantime, the school continues to deteriorate. Sewer lines regularly back up and pipes are so corroded that water barely trickles out of some drinking fountains and bathrooms.

The playground is rutted with gopher holes and the blacktop is cracked and lifting from its foundation. Posters and masking tape hide large holes in some classrooms where termites have been feasting for a long time.

“I think you need to look at it the way a homeowner looks at his house,” said Hamor, a 26-year district veteran. “Just because it looks attractive on the outside doesn’t mean there aren’t problems on the inside. As any homeowner knows, you can only dress up the outside for so long before things really start to fall apart.”