Interest Level Low for Measures in 3 Districts

The turnout could be very low for Tuesday’s multimillion-dollar school bond election, but county officials predict a better turnout in the three-man Camarillo City Council race.

More than 30% of the voters may cast ballots in Camarillo, said Gene Browning, the county elections program administrator. The election is being held to fill a seat left vacant by the death of Councilman Ken Gose.

Browning’s prediction comes in spite of a low-key campaign by the three candidates--former councilmen Ned Chatfield, 78, and Mike Morgan, 50, and 18-year-old student Chris Valenzano. There has been little conflict or acrimony, with the trio agreeing on many of the major city issues.

Of the city’s 34,000 voters, 3,100 requested absentee ballots and 2,700 have returned them so far, an indication of high interest.

County Elections Chief Bruce Bradley, however, expects few voters to make it to the polls to decide on the school bond initiatives: Ventura Unified School District’s $81-million Measure M, Oxnard elementary school district’s $57-million Measure L and Ocean View School District’s $4-million Measure N.

“We’re not getting a lot of interest,� Bradley said. “We’re not getting a lot of absentee ballots. I will guarantee you that if you go to your polling place, you won’t wait in line.�

A turnout rate is not considered good unless a majority of voters hand in their ballots, said Bradley, adding that a “respectable� turnout contrasted with past county elections would range from 25% to 30%.

For instance, the largest turnout for the school bond elections held in March was 29% in Fillmore. About 14% voted in Oxnard and the low was only 12% in Port Hueneme.

Unlike voting for state officials, where the impact on county residents may be more indirect, voting on school bonds will directly affect many residents.

“This hits very close to home because it’s money out of your pocket,� Bradley said. “You’re voting or not voting to have your property tax increased. It’s amazing people scream about taxation without representation and only 20% turn out.�

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Rosier economic times in Ventura County make the bond measures appear more likely to pass, said Mike Saliba, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn.

Recent bond elections bear this out. During the past couple years, the majority of school bonds proposed in California passed.

In April, the Los Angeles Unified School District passed a $2.4-billion bond, the largest school bond in the state’s history. In March, local voters approved the Hueneme School District’s $4.7-million school bond and Fillmore Unified School District’s $12-million school bond measures.

“In the early ‘90s, the economy was going down, people were uncertain of the future and they were being asked to put more money up by the way of assessments,� Saliba said. “Now that we’ve seen the economy turn around and the property values stabilizing, more people are going to vote for the bond.�

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The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for voters to decide the fate of the following school bond initiatives:

* Ventura Unified’s $81-million bond measure is the largest bond amount in county history. Measure M would help build two elementary schools, a middle school and magnet high school by 2010 to help ease overcrowding in the 16,773-student district. The measure would also go toward improving school technology and campus renovations.

* Oxnard School District officials are trying again with their $57-million bond measure after narrowly failing in March. The money from Measure L would help build two elementary schools in the 14,288-student school district and finance school improvements and renovations.

* Ocean View School District, which includes part of south Oxnard and stretches east to the Malibu hills, is seeking approval for a $4-million bond. Passage of Measure N would allow for the purchase of portable classrooms as well as modernization and renovation of facilities in the 2,405-student district.

The purchase of portable classrooms and the building of classrooms at the three school districts are in part an effort to create more space to implement Gov. Pete Wilson’s incentive program to reduce classes to sizes of 20 or fewer students. The three districts are also seeking to improve their school technology to prepare students for the next century. While the three school bond campaigns have no organized opposition, some taxpayers are worried voters don’t understand the longterm commitment they are being asked to make. Renters are excluded, but property owners must pay a certain amount annually based on their assessed property value for the next 25 to 30 years.

The annual cost to taxpayers per $100,000 in assessed property value is $27.75 in Ventura Unified, $30 in Oxnard and $21 in Ocean View.

John Duprie, a homeowner who has lived in Ventura 29 years, said his school district should work harder to save money for projects, and collect more money from the state rather than asking for new taxes.

“Every year it will be about $55,� said Duprie, 52, calculating his tax payments. “When you’re on a limited income to start with and you start taking $55 off per year, and it won’t end in 10 years, it’s going to mean watering the lawn less, eating out less, doing less for entertainment.�

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Part of Ventura Unified’s plan, however, is to collect money from the state, sell district property and collect developer funds for school projects, district officials said. Although Ventura Unified is passing the largest bond in its history, residents would pay for one school bond because the system is a kindergarten to 12th-grade district.

Residents of the Ocean View and Oxnard elementary school districts will pay for two bond measures if their measures pass. In November, voters in the two districts passed a $57-million Oxnard Union High School bond measure, which residents in the districts will pay because they live within the high school district.

For some, voting for a school bond is a must, though it may not benefit them directly.

“I thought, ‘You know, someone I never knew went out to the polls and voted for a bond for my children,’ � said 69-year-old retiree Roma Armbrust. “I feel I must do that for the future of the children in Ventura.�