Two Districts to Ask Voters to OK Bonds

Two of the county’s fastest-growing school districts, Capistrano Unified and Santa Ana Unified, will ask voters to tax themselves this fall in order to reap millions of dollars in available state school funds.

Capistrano trustees this week opted to seek $65 million in bonds for repairs and new construction, and the Santa Ana school board has voted to seek $145 million in bonds for similar purposes.

In Santa Ana, passage of the bond measure would bring an additional $184.6 million from the state. The money would be used to build two high schools and 11 elementary schools and expand Valley High School to accommodate 600 additional students. The school system’s board decided at a special meeting Monday night to place the measure on the ballot.

Both votes will take place Nov. 2.

The new elementary schools would allow the Santa Ana district to remove many of its portable classrooms from school sites and also give parents in central Santa Ana a choice between traditional or year-round schedules for their children.

“There are a lot of parents in our district who feel a traditional schedule is better educationally, as opposed to the starts and stops of a year-round cycle,” said Michael Vail, senior director of facilities planning.

Should the Santa Ana bonds pass, the average annual tax rate would rise $45.74 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, Vail said.

In Capistrano Unified, where the board also voted Monday night, the district would use the local bonds to leverage $101 million in matching funds from the state.

Should the measure pass, the average tax rate would rise by about $15 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.

The bond measure--called a school facilities improvement district--will exclude some residents who live in the district and are already being taxed for the construction of local schools.

The South County district would use the money to repair aging buildings and construct four schools.

The school board “felt it would be remiss if it didn’t give the community voters an opportunity to decide whether they want to tax themselves,” said Jacqueline Price, special assistant to Capistrano’s superintendent.