5 of 7 School Bond Measures Pass

Voters Tuesday gave most school bond supporters something to celebrate, handing them victory in five of seven measures in Los Angeles County elections but leaving Compton’s bond measure less than 1% short of passage pending a final tally.

After a barrage of mailers and telephone pitches from bond supporters, voters from Torrance to the Antelope Valley on Tuesday approved more than $250 million in bond measures to repair crumbling schools or build new ones.

Throughout California, nearly half of all local bond measures fell short of the two-thirds vote required to pass. But in Los Angeles County, only San Gabriel’s $53-million measure looked sure to suffer defeat, with 63% of the vote. Compton’s $107-million bond, which was rejected in April by 12%, was this time short only 88 votes.

“We got so close that we could smell it,” said Randolph Ward, the Compton School District’s state-appointed administrator. “It’s amazing that only 88 votes could mean the difference between not one cent and $107 million.”

But Ward and other bond advocates are still waiting for the count of provisional and absentee ballots that may give them enough votes to scrape to a victory. Otherwise, supporters may call for a recount, he said.

Bond measures had little trouble passing in the Inglewood, Lawndale and Santa Monica-Malibu school districts and in the Antelope Valley’s Westside Union District. And in Torrance, where a small band of opponents had scuttled three previous attempts, victory--with 70%--was especially welcome.

“It’s wonderful,” said Torrance’s superintendent, Arnold Plank, who campaigned in the evenings for the bond. “It’s been a long uphill battle, but it makes the payoff ever so sweet.”

Plank attributed the campaign’s success to supporters’ willingness to summon the energy for one last election and to slice $38 million off the proposal that failed previously.

For districts with new bond funds, the passage of state Proposition 1A--the $9.2-billion school bond measure--could provide a windfall in matching grants to build new schools or make desperately needed repairs at old ones.

The landslide 62%-38% victory of the statewide measure--which only required a simple majority to pass--will bring an immediate infusion of cash to school construction statewide. The measure, the largest in state history, earmarks $6.7 billion for kindergarten through grade 12 and $2.5 billion for community colleges and universities.

Local districts, except for some hardship cases, must ante up money to qualify for state funds for new school construction.

Los Angeles Unified, where voters approved a bond measure last year, stands to benefit.

If Compton’s bond remains shy of victory, the district may lose $36.6 million for school repairs promised by the state. The money was approved on the condition that the district put up $8.4 million in local funds, Ward said.

Compton and San Gabriel will still be eligible for a portion of the state’s school bond money. The proposition allows the state to allocate $1 billion in hardship funds to districts that are unable to meet urgent repairs without requiring any local matches.

One key to passing school bonds, observers said Wednesday, is hiring a political consultant, especially if faced with organized opposition.

Torrance bond campaigners this time hired Larry Tramutola, a well-known bond consultant. So did advocates in Inglewood, where a whopping $131-million bond measure garnered 88% support.

“If you want to win, one of the things you’ve got to do is get a consultant,” said Bob Blattner, a director of School Services of California, a private lobbying firm that monitors local bond results. “The two-thirds super-majority is generally not a hurdle that can be overcome by amateurs.”

Times staff writer Nick Anderson and correspondent Richard Winton contributed to this story.