Neighborhood Defeats School Bond Measure

Voters resoundingly rejected a $3-million school bond measure to build a library and multipurpose building at an elementary school in Mt. Washington, a hillside community northeast of downtown Los Angeles, official results showed Wednesday.

In a special election Tuesday, Measure A received only 47.8% of 1,362 votes cast, according to the city clerk’s office. The “no” votes totaled 52.2%. A two-thirds majority was required for passage. Turnout was 26% of the 5,248 eligible voters.

The special election, the first of its kind in the Los Angeles Unified School District, would have allowed property owners in a special assessment district to vote bonds and pay for them through a special property tax levy. The process is allowed under the Mello-Roos Act, a state law that allows for votes for public improvements.

In this case, supporters in Mt. Washington widened the special assessment district to pay for the building--which would also have housed a cafeteria and auditorium--by including portions of Cypress Park, Glassell Park and Highland Park. Critics objected because children in those communities, downhill from Mt. Washington, go to different public schools.

“We let the people in Mt. Washington know that this was unfair,” said Cypress Park resident Guillermo Reyes. “Hopefully, they can [have another election] and keep it in their area up there.”

Some Measure A supporters said they would continue to campaign for the new building, which they intend to name after Jack Smith, the late Times columnist who lived in Mt. Washington for nearly 40 years. Smith died in 1996.

“After analyzing where the ‘no’ votes came from, we’ll know how to move forward,” said Warren Christensen, a chief supporter who admitted he was surprised at the results.

“People are just upset at [the Los Angeles Unified School District] for wasting so much money on [the] Belmont [Learning Center].”

The results proved to be a disappointment for 20 Mt. Washington Elementary School fifth-graders who went to Piper Tech, the city’s maintenance and warehouse facility, to watch the vote tabulation. Although the election was Tuesday, officials waited until Wednesday morning to count the votes.

When it was clear that the school bond had lost, the students, who are studying government, were crestfallen.

“They couldn’t understand why people would vote against a school auditorium,” said teacher Jeannine Patria, who accompanied the students.