New Oak Park school bond draws heated debate

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers OLD SCHOOL—Students walk by a dilapidated building on the campus of Oak Park High School. Measure R would raise $29.4 million for repairs and upgrades on the school district's six campuses.

Oak Park school officials hope the third attempt to pass a school facility improvement bond will be successful when voters go to the polls on Nov. 4.

 

Residents on both sides of the issue harbor strong feelings about the new school bond, called Measure R.

The $29.4-million bond is a pared down version of two earlier measures. Voters rejected an $89-million bond in June 2006 and a $71million bond in November of the same year. Unlike the first two bonds which required a two-thirds vote, Measure R only needs 55 percent of the votes to pass.

Critics of the two earlier bonds charged the school district with asking too much from taxpayers in light of declining enrollment.

In response, the school board conducted research to address residents' concerns and created a new list of what they describe as necessary repairs to school roofs, fire and safety systems, parking lots and sidewalks, and heating ventilation and air conditioning units.

The repairs are necessary and timely, say Measure R proponents.

"The fact of the matter is that we have buildings that are over 30 years old, that have been heavily used, and they need fixing," said Marie Panec, Oak Park school board member. "To vote 'no' on Measure R is to put our children at risk—health risk, risk in the event of a disaster and risk of injury. This is regardless of how one feels about closing a school or denying outofdistrict permits."

Against further spending

Jerry Kaman scoffs at the district's contention that the bond covers only the bare minimum.

"Thirty million dollars is hardly the bare minimum. That's $6 million per campus. And there are going to be more repairs needed five to 10 years down the road, and they will come to us again," said Kaman, a member of the Community Foundation for Oak Park and the C6 technology bond oversight committee.

Kaman said the district has not provided the community with a detailed list of projects to be covered by the proposed bond.

"All they have provided is a 10-line spreadsheet. They are going to spend close to $30 million in 10 lines. It's incredibly vague so they can spend it on anything, including things we don't think are necessarily important."

Kaman says he repeatedly asked for a detailed list from the district but never received one.

He points to the C6 technology bond as an example of unintended spending. Money from the 2006 bond was used to purchase four new Suburbans for district transportation needs.

"Money was being spent on other things, not on maintenance. They complain they don't have money, but they still find money for pet projects of the administration," said Kaman, who has lived in Oak Park for 11 years and does not have children. "Debt financing, in my opinion, is not the way to do maintenance."

Critics also point to an $80,000 expenditure by the district to help bring more natural foods into school cafeterias.

With enrollment in decline, critics also suggest that the district consider closing an elementary school and renting it for income.

"When you've got a statistic that one out of every four or five kids are out-of-district and we're paying these astronomical amounts of money and now we're being asked to pay more, we need to sit back and evaluate it," said Jenni Voltin, Oak Park resident.

"We already have the highest taxes in Ventura County and are among the highest in the state in taxes. I think that asking for more money is ludicrous, especially in these times of uncertainty where people are losing jobs by the hundreds every single day and worried about paying their electrical bill."

Voltin, the mother of an Oak Park High student, says proposed new air conditioning and heating of the high school and middle school gyms isn't necessary.

Better vision needed "We need to do something constructive and sustainable for the future. These issues are not going to go away. We need a plan that we can really be excited about and something we can trust," said Barbara Bronson Gray, whose two children are now grown but attended Oak Hills Elementary before transferring to a private school.

"I don't like the comments that we gave to the schools when our kids were there and now we don't care. That's not true," Gray said. "A lot of people say it's only $30 million for 30 years and that it's not a lot of money, but they get it all in the early years."

Broken schools need fixing

School districts rarely have money for ongoing maintenance and must cover the costs through bond measures, said the school board's Marie Panec.

"We have no funds to fix what is broken. We have patched and patched. You can patch only so long," she said.

A committee of community members spent six months researching and developing a list of primarily safety items. Bids were obtained on some projects to make the dollar amount needed as accurate as possible.

"There was criticism that past bonds were unreasonable, so we complied and created a reasonable bond, and now residents are still saying no, which tells me that people have another agenda," said Measure R campaign chair Jay Kapitz.

A detailed bond project list was not released because the district was concerned that the project analysis was too complicated, said Mike Paule, Measure R Committee co-chair.

"We tried to summarize it to make it easier," said Paule, adding that a complete list is now available for review.

Under Measure R, every school, including the district office, will receive improvements.

Among the biggest projects: replace phones, intercoms, bells and security systems; install energy management systems; upgrade science labs; improve electrical service on athletic fields; repair roofs, restrooms and parking lots; replace cabinetry; replace interior walls damaged by leaks; pressure clean and paint exteriors; repair or replace failing electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning; and repair or replace obsolete portable classrooms.

Parent Natalie Friedman strongly supports the school bond.

"Our local educational system is top-notch, but our children's wellbeing is at risk," said Friedman, whose three children attend Brookside Elementary. "A 'yes' on Measure R will help to continue the high standards Oak Park has for our schools, keep our property values up during a critical downturn in the market and provide a safe, clean environment for our children."

Lena Tucker, who has sons at Medea Creek Middle School and at Oak Park High wants to see improvements to the gym

"It is unbearable in the gym when it is hot outside. I have noticed how much nicer and cleaner other district's gyms were, and I was embarrassed that even though we live in a lot nicer neighborhood, our bathrooms, which are old, embarrassing and disgusting, look as if we lived in the ghetto," Tucker said.

Oak Park's previous facilities bond passed was 30 years ago, said Paule.

"You wouldn't buy a house with a 30-year mortgage and never repair it," he said. "To let the schools fall apart is ridiculous. Without the bond the district really faces an uncertain future. "