Undeterred, district moves forward with bond

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- School officials Wednesday said the failure of state

Proposition 26 is not an omen for their own bond measure.

California voters determined in Tuesday’s primary election that they

don’t want to make it easier for school bonds to pass. Prop. 26 would

have reduced the two-thirds voting requirements for school bonds to a

simple majority.

But the Newport-Mesa Unified School District -- which will ask local

voters to approve a $110-million school bond in a June 6 special ballot

-- always intended to go after a two-thirds majority, said school board

member Martha Fluor.

“I’m disappointed, but it’s not preventing me from being optimistic,”

said Fluor. “Regardless if it was 50% or two-thirds, we’re committed to a

bond. I’m still optimistic that [voters] see what needs to be done.”

School board member Wendy Leece, a conservative, said she was not

disappointed by the outcome of the vote. Despite her support of the

multimillion-dollar bond for Newport-Mesa, Leece adamantly opposed making

it easier to raise property taxes, saying that if taxpayers were going to

fork over the money, they should overwhelmingly agree to a school bond

measure.

“Failure of Prop 26 means that we must win over many more neighbors,

friends, parents and other elected officials,” Leece said. “The burden is

on us to help the entire community understand why a minimal tax increase

is justified to fix all of our schools.”

District officials still hope voters will pass the $110-million bond and

they are crossing their fingers for an additional $53 million from the

state in matching funds. The money would be used to fix all 29 of

Newport-Mesa’s crumbling schools.

When the board voted to put the bond measure before voters, they were

prepared for Prop. 26 -- regardless of the outcome.

“We planned our election for a two-thirds vote,” said Supt. Robert

Barbot. “When we planned, we went ahead with the expectation that if

[Prop.] 26 passed, we would be ready. But we are also ready for

two-thirds. For once, I think we covered the bases.”

The statewide proposition narrowly failed, with 51% of California voters

opposed to it.

Disappointed or not, school bond proponents will forge ahead with their

plans for the June vote.

“Yes, it will take a lot of time to persuade others, but the need is

clear,” Leece said. “At the end of the day on June 6, many people, a

two-thirds majority, must agree with us. And I think if a bond passes,

many will celebrate with us and know they are a vital part in the future

success of our Newport-Mesa public schools.”