Photograph by Robert Scheer
Maintenance worker Bill Eagen examines a bad boiler line at Argonaut Elementary School.
By Torre Peña
The Saratoga Union School District board's unanimous approval of a June 3 election for a $40 million bond measure to finance elementary school repairs and renovations met with enthusiastic applause from parents and teachers attending the board meeting on Jan. 28.
"Every year that passes there are more difficulties," Superintendent Mary Gardner said.
The long list of neglected repairs includes leaky roofs, faulty electrical and heating systems, sewer backup, asbestos removal, loose flooring and seismic upgrades for earthquake safety. The repairs will center on health and safety needs, Gardner said.
"The roofs are in bad shape. Last year, several computers were ruined by water leaking in," Lily Ogden, principal of Saratoga Elementary School, said. The school has not been modernized since the facility was constructed 70 years ago.
During the cold spell in early January, classrooms were never above 55 degrees before 11 a.m. because of continual heating system problems, Ogden said. And she blames aging pipes for the urine stench that lingers in the bathrooms.
"We're not asking for a Cadillac," Ogden said. "We want the children to be surrounded by buildings that are safe and conducive to learning."
Echoing similar concerns, Argonaut Elementary School principal Sue Brooks said bathroom conditions are a recurring theme of student council meetings.
To compensate for an unreliable heating system, Brooks has used portable heaters. But these are often ineffective because of faulty electrical wiring. "The maintenance workers are constantly running for emergencies," she said.
In addition to repairs, expansion and upgrading of existing facilities would account for $15 million of the proposed bond.
Bond money would fund new buildings and classrooms needed to accommodate the growing student population estimated by the district to swell by 25 percent over the next 10 years. Faced with class-size reduction in the primary grades, the district is already scrambling to find space for current students. "We've been addressing growth by bringing in portables," Gardner said. If the bond passes, permanent classrooms will be constructed.
The ballot language will state that bond money can't be used for teacher or administrative salaries or curriculum. The money must be used for repair and renovations and is exclusively for Saratoga district's schools.
The board of trustees felt confident about proceeded with the measure after considering an encouraging poll that surveyed voter support for the bond. A telephone survey of 400 likely voters in Saratoga conducted by Gene Bregman and Associates two weeks ago indicated that voters perceive the biggest problems in the district to be overcrowding and repairs. Seventy-four percent of those polled said they would vote for the $40 million measure, well above the two-thirds necessary for passage.
A $40 million bond translates into a $38.67 property tax per $100,000 of assessed value for Saratogans, according to the district's consultant.
Saratoga is currently the only West Valley city that hasn't passed a bond for its schools, Gardner said. Parcel taxes that would have benefited schools have been narrowly defeated in the past.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, February 5, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.