School Bond Fight Extends to the Ballot

Supporters of the high school district’s $123-million bond measure will ask a judge today to amend their opponents’ ballot statement, which alleges that passage of the bond issue will allow administrators to divert other money toward salaries.

The paragraph in question contends that passing the school bond would allow officials to play a financial shell game by shunting general fund money now earmarked for building maintenance toward “administrative salaries or other perks that have little or no benefit for our students.”

Bond opponents, including members of the Newman Terrace Homeowners Assn., argue that the high school district has mismanaged funds in the past and thus should be denied any additional funding.

Denis Fitzgerald, whose son, William, signed the argument against the bond, said the action is an attempt to stifle opposition. “The money people are trying to discourage a very grass-roots organization from fighting the bond measure,” he said.

Advocates of the November bond measure say that the reserve for school repairs will be maintained, and actually increased, if the measure passes. By state law, the money cannot be spent on raises, said Irvine lawyer Steve Sheldon, who filed the petition for writ of mandate for the pro-bond group, Restore Our Schools.

The pro-bond group is asking the Orange County registrar of voters to delete the disputed paragraph.

“This is about being accountable,” said Sheldon, who represents Restore Our Schools Co-Chairman Stephen K. Bone. “If they want to oppose [the bond], fine, but they can’t make false statements.”

If approved by two-thirds of voters, the Huntington Beach bond would provide funding to repair sinking buildings and cracked foundations, fix damaged or aging infrastructure, improve campus security and add computer wiring.