‘Yes’ on School Bonds

Orange County voters carry a deserved reputation for fiscal conservatism. But three school districts are asking for approval next month of bond issues to repair old schools or build new ones, sometimes both. The districts have done a good job of demonstrating the need for the money and pledging to ensure it is spent correctly. Voters should approve the bond measures.

From 1975 until last year, Orange County residents rejected all school bond measures except for one in 1990 in Los Alamitos, and that one exempted residents of Leisure World and other homeowners 65 or older from the tax increase needed to finance the borrowing.

The 1970s began the years of great anti-tax fervor throughout California, highlighted by Proposition 13 in 1978. The bond measures require two-thirds approval, not just a nod from the majority. That’s too high a hurdle, and one that couldn’t be leaped.

But last year Buena Park passed a bond measure. This past June the Brea Olinda Unified School District followed suit. An important reason was an absence of opposition in both cases. This year, two of the Orange County districts, Santa Ana Unified and Huntington Beach Union High, do have opposition to their requests for more funds. Despite the merits of their arguments, both districts have a tough assignment because opponents need only muster one-third of the votes.

Capistrano Unified School District wants authorization to issue $65 million in bonds. No one submitted an opposing argument for the ballot, and the district has impressive support from local mayors, other elected officials and teachers.

All three districts have tried to point out to voters that if the bond measures pass, they will receive additional state funds provided by the $9.2-billion statewide bond measure passed last year. Known as Proposition 1A, the money was earmarked for building new schools to relieve overcrowding, repair old schools and wire classrooms and libraries for computers. Those are the very needs of Orange County schools.

Capistrano has been experiencing the South County population boom as new homes spring up across the landscape. The district says it can receive $101 million in state funds if Measure A passes.

Building new schools clearly would help reduce overcrowding, but the district also holds classes in buildings dating back 30 or 40 years, and those structures need repairs. The district’s ballot statement also makes the point that “first class schools preserve property values, improve the local economy, reduce crime, and maintain our quality of life.”

The Capistrano and Santa Ana elections are Nov. 2. On Nov. 9, the Huntington Beach Union High School District is asking for approval of $123 million. The money would buy new classrooms to replace worn-out portables, fix plumbing and heating systems and add computer wiring. Buildings that are sinking or showing cracked foundations would be fixed.

Santa Ana wants the most money, $145 million to help build 11 new elementary and two new high schools, improve electrical systems, decrease class sizes and add libraries to schools without them.

Two residents who signed the argument against Santa Ana’s Measure C argued that the school board has neglected basic maintenance and has wasted tax dollars.

Those are arguments better suited for the next election campaign for school board members, not for deciding to approve bonds. Santa Ana and Huntington Beach officials have promised to establish an oversight committee to see to it that funds are spent properly. By law, the money cannot go for administrators’ salaries, only for school buildings and classrooms. In addition, all three districts have promised to audit expenditures and publish the results. Those are appropriate safeguards.

School buildings need repairs just as surely as do houses. Stucco breaks away; electrical wires fray. Huntington Beach High School was built in 1927; it needs many repairs.

An opponent of the Huntington Beach bond issue says it’s too big, averaging out to more than $15 million for each of the schools. But the district superintendent says a team of professional engineers, architects, community volunteers and businesspeople has agreed that repairs are needed, and the cost is estimated at $160 million for the six high schools, a continuation school and an adult school. The district is eligible for $37 million in state money if the bond issue passes.

The district has enlisted the support of local elected officials and businesspeople who have inspected the campuses and agree with the scope of repairs. In addition, Huntington Beach has done a good job in recent years of recruiting volunteers from the community to help clean up and make minor repairs on schools. One group trying to repair the closed pool at Huntington Beach High School has raised more than half a million dollars but still is many hundreds of thousands of dollars short.

Huntington Beach administrators have also worked for years to drum up support in the community for the bond measure they expected they would need some day. They did the extensive paperwork needed to show the state the schools were eligible for matching funds even before last year’s Proposition 1A.

Even in good economic times, voters are right to examine requests for more money closely, especially when the added levy goes on the tax bill for decades. But the renewed emphasis on and interest in education, from class size to test scores, should include the need for buildings where the bathrooms work and the ceilings don’t leak. The bond measures Nov. 2 and 9 deserve approval.