HAWTHORNE : School Bond Election Canceled; Costs Cited

Hawthorne school officials have canceled a special election on a $15-million bond issue for school improvements.

The election, scheduled for March, would have been the third attempt by school officials to pass the bond measure, which lost by 18 votes in the June election.

Before the 3-2 vote, some board members said the cost--an estimated $70,000--led them to reverse their decision to hold the election. Board members Eleanor Escalante, James Baker and Shirley Duff voted to cancel the election. Officials said, however, that the issue may be put to the voters in June, when including the measure on the ballot would cost $14,000.

The expense would be lower because other cities and districts holding elections in June would split the cost, Duff said. The Hawthorne district would have been the only one on the ballot in March.

Campaigning for the maintenance and repair bond--dubbed Measure B--began last year, spurred by the need for new plumbing, locks and windows at many of the district’s nine schools, said Pamela Fees, director of business services for the district.

The measure would cost Hawthorne property owners an average of $20 a year for 25 years.

When the measure failed to gain the required two-thirds vote, proponents of the measure paid for a recount. The recount, however, upheld the election results.

In October, the board, unaware of the cost, voted unanimously to hold a special election to try to pass the measure again.