Lower School Bond on November Ballot

School trustees voted late Tuesday to place an $88-million bond measure on the November ballot, cutting $9 million from a measure that has failed twice in the past year.

Conejo Valley Unified School District Supt. Jerry Gross submitted several proposals with the hope that a lower bond would be more palatable to voters the third time around.

During discussions, trustees debated the fate of a proposed pool at Westlake High School. Gross suggested it be eliminated from the spending plan because many considered it frivolous.

But in the end, trustees kept the pool in the projects list. If the measure is approved by two-thirds of voters, the average homeowner would face an annual tax of $20.43 per $100,000 of his or her property’s value.

“The difference between having the aquatic facility and not is just 65 cents a year--that’s pennies,” board President Dolores Didio said. “As I look at our lower figures on this bond, we are listening to the people.”