Bond needed for Oak Park schools

The Oak Park Unified School District has finalized plans to place a new bond measure on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The $29.4-million school bond, called Measure R, is a far cry from the two bloated bonds that failed to pass muster in 2006. Leaner and more likely to meet voter approval, Measure R addresses the school district's immediate structural needs, such as leaky roofs, faulty plumbing and dilapidated parking lots, while keeping the homeowner tax rate fixed at under $45 a year per $100,000 of assessed valuation. Because of its lower rate, Measure R will only need 55 percent approval to pass, unlike the required twothirds majority that doomed the effort a few years ago.

While student enrollment is declining and classroom crowding is no longer an issue, the district's decades-old facilities are run down and in dire need of fixing. The new measure will get the repairs done and does not overstep its bounds.

Although Oak Park homeowners are paying for a parcel tax and two older bonds already, the school facilities continue to decline. The blame falls mostly on the state and its inability to provide adequate funding for public education. The school district is asking families to reach into their pocketbooks and help make up the difference.

The Acorn endorses Measure R and urges voters to approve it, but still, we think more could be done to keep overall costs in line. Recently, for example, the school board voted to give Superintendent Tony Knight a 3.25 percent pay hike. The board's vote was split with two of the members opposing the superintendent's pay raise. (Teachers last year received a similar increase.) We are, after all, in a recession. Many private sector employees are happy just to have jobs, much less receive raises.

We won't begrudge raises, but we do urge the school board to look at overall realities. While residents understand the need to issue bonds and pay top salaries to school district staff, not all Oak Park families are in a high income bracket and can afford these extra costs. Meanwhile, the classrooms and buildings continue to grow old, which makes the approval of Measure R a necessity,l ike it or not.