School Board Votes to Place Bond Measure on Ballot

More than two months after voters rejected an identical bond measure, the Compton Unified School District Board backed a resolution Tuesday that will place a $107-million school bond on the November ballot.

The resolution, proposed by board member Basil Kimbrew, passed 4 to 1.

“Voters should support [the bond] for the one simple reason: that without rebuilding and fixing our schools, our kids in Compton will not enjoy the proper education in the proper environment they need,” Kimbrew said after the vote.

Students “shouldn’t have to worry about whether the electricity is going to go off,” Kimbrew said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’ll have adequate books to take home.”

In April, after a bitterly fought campaign, an identical school bond failed to garner the two-thirds vote it needed to pass, winning 55% approval.

Kimbrew said Tuesday that he wanted to reach out to those who had opposed the first bond measure and that he hoped the upcoming campaign would avoid the personal attacks that marked the last one.

The decision by the board, which has served an advisory role since the state took over Compton’s school district in 1993, requires approval from the district’s state administrator, Randolph Ward. A district spokeswoman said Ward has pledged to support the board’s decision.