Survey Shows Support for Pleasant Valley School Bond

CAMARILLO — After four defeats at the ballot box, it appears that the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District has a fair shot of winning voter approval for a $49-million bond measure in November.

That optimistic prediction is predicated on how well bond advocates inform voters about what the bond money is needed for and where it would be spent, according to a survey released Thursday.

“I think the election is there for the winning if we get the word out,” said Howard Hamilton, the district’s associate superintendent. “That’s what the survey says.”

The telephone poll of 400 registered voters in Camarillo was conducted for the district by Price Research, a Bay Area-based polling company.

Once given information about the specific needs of the district’s 14 campuses, 77% of those surveyed said they would vote in favor of the bond. Yet prior to hearing any details about the district’s worn and outdated facilities, only 66% were in favor, just under the 66.7% needed for passage.

The last three bond measures placed on the ballot this decade--the most recent in November 1995--have fallen short of the two-thirds needed by only 1 or 2 percentage points.

But this time around it appears that the likelihood of passing a bond is much greater, district officials said.

“What gives us hope is that the surrounding districts are passing [bond measures], and that’s a statewide trend,” Hamilton said.

Five school districts in Ventura County passed bond measures this year. Last November, the Oxnard Union High School District won approval for its $57-million bond measure. That success broke the long dry spell this decade, during which few school districts went to the voters with a bond, and those that did failed.

In addition, today’s voters understand that schools need to build and purchase portable classrooms in order to reduce class size and improve their technology, Hamilton added.

Despite the earlier defeats, district officials last month decided to pursue a fifth bond campaign in the fall, this time to raise enough money to build two new schools, purchase portable classrooms, renovate campuses and improve school technology. The district has until Aug. 8 to remove its measure from the ballot without incurring penalties.

According to the district’s 1990 Master School Plan, the 7,100-student district will gain 2,800 students by the year 2007.

With Pitt’s Ranch in eastern Camarillo slated to build about 1,200 homes in the next five years, the district expects to build one school in that area for about $10 million to accommodate growth. It also plans to build a school in the Mission Oaks/Santa Rosa Valley area for an estimated $14 million.

In addition, a statewide initiative to reduce class sizes has created a shortage of space, district officials say. The district estimates it will use about $3 million in bond money to reduce class sizes.

The bond money would also be earmarked for renovating run-down campuses. Most of the district’s schools were built in the 1960s. Some funds would be used to repay $4.5 million the district borrowed to build Tierra Linda, a campus serving kindergarten through third-grade students in east Camarillo that opened in 1994.

Not surprisingly, parents of district students show greater support for the bond measure. According to the survey, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3%, 63% of the parents initially said they would support a bond. Once they were given information about the schools’ needs, 82% said they would vote yes.

Among non-parents, the initial approval figure was 66%. After they received further information, the number who would vote yes rose to 76%

Tracked by party affiliation, Democrats were more supportive of the measure than Republicans. Prior to information, 64% of the Republicans voted yes, after information 74%. For Democrats the corresponding figures were 76% and 86%.

Broken down by age group, the survey found that respondents 18 to 24 were the most likely to approve the bond measure. But even among those age 65 and older, many of whom are on fixed incomes, 64% initially said they would support the bond, which increased to 74% after hearing details. Yet the school district is still cautious, contemplating the large number of votes it takes to pass a bond.

“It’s still a tough sell,” Hamilton said. “Two-thirds is very difficult.”