El Dorado schools seek to patch things up in tough times

While it may not be the proper time to ask the public for money, supporters of a school bond in El Dorado County say funds are critically needed to renovate and modernize aging high school campuses.

"We have 20-year-old portable classrooms, 40-year-old heating and air-conditioning units, and our job training facilities are woefully out of date," said Charlie Stephens, leader of the citizens committee for Measure Q.

The June 3 ballot measure would provide $66.3 million in general obligation school bonds to upgrade El Dorado Union High School District educational facilities and also make the district eligible for millions in state matching funds.

"I think our kids are doing so well, their facilities need to match that," said district Superintendent Sherry Smith.

All four of the district's comprehensive high schools - Oak Ridge, Ponderosa, El Dorado and Union Mine - have been recognized as California Distinguished Schools, and Independence High School in Diamond Springs was named a 2008 Model Continuation High School.

Measure Q is the only school bond in the Sacramento region on the June ballot.

No arguments against the measure were filed with the county elections office.

Smith doesn't believe an ailing economy will deter voters from approving the measure. A survey of district voters conducted in November showed strong support for a bond measure, she said.

Smith also said that as recently as February, voters in Stockton - a city with one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation - overwhelmingly approved a $464.5 million Stockton Unified School District modernization bond.

"We were watching with some trepidation the (primary) election in February," Stephens said. School bonds statewide passed with about the same percentage as they had in the past, he said. Measure Q requires 55 percent voter approval.

Putting together a bond measure can take years of preparation, Smith said. In the case of Measure Q, the process began in 2005.

"We spent two years working on a comprehensive plan for each school site," she said.

In January 2008, the district board of trustees voted to place a bond measure on the ballot.

While Measure Q would cover the bulk of the district's $80 million in unfunded needs, passage of the bond also makes the district eligible for $10 million in state funding to help modernize facilities and provide vocational training facilities.

Steve Luhrs, district associate superintendent of business, said that even though the state provides modernization funding to districts every 25 years, "it's never really enough." In particular, he said, the state doesn't account for the high cost of construction.

Among the proposed Measure Qbond projects are: modernizing facilities to meet current fire and safety codes; repairing or replacing aging roofs; providing job training facilities and equipment; improving access for the disabled; expanding and repairing library facilities; upgrading electrical, plumbing and heating and air conditioning; repairing and renovating science classrooms and labs; and modernizing and replacing portables.

The measure will cost property owners $16 per $100,000 of assessed valuation per year. Smith said no funds from Measure Q will be spent on teacher or administrator salaries, and the measure provides for a citizens oversight committee.

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