Advocates of School Bonds Challenge Foes’ Argument

Supporters of Huntington Beach Union High School District’s $123-million bond measure will ask a judge today to delete a paragraph from opponents’ ballot statement that alleges bond money will allow administrators to divert other money toward salaries.

The paragraph in question contends that passing the school bonds would allow district 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 measure, 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 increase if the measure passes. By law, the money cannot be spent on raises, said Irvine lawyer Steve Sheldon, who filed the court petition for the pro-bonds group Restore Our Schools.

The bond measure advocates want the 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 bonds], fine, but they can’t make false statements.”

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