By LESTER CHANG
Several area school districts and trustees hold markedly different views of Proposition 203, a March 26 ballot measure that would provide $3 billion to build new schools, repair old ones and construct college projects.
Fremont Union High School District and Cupertino Union School District will not pursue funds from the measure, whereas and the Foothill-De Anza Community College District is counting on it.
Should the measure pass, Fremont and Cupertino won't apply for funds immediately because of restrictive funding requirements and fears that the state may slap liens on school buildings or take fees from districts for accepting bond funds, said Robyn Phillips, director of finance for the Cupertino district.
In contrast, the college district will seek about $6 million for improvements at De Anza College.
Fremont and Cupertino would reconsider applying for funds only if the rules for eligibility are relaxed, said officials from both districts.
For the college district, the funds will serve to improve job skills of students bound for the 21st century workplace.
Santa Clara County schools and colleges would receive significant funding from the measure, which would help reduce crowding and improve classroom instruction, supporters said.
More than 60 academic organizations, including the California Teachers Association and California School Employees Association, support the measure.
But neither the Cupertino board of education nor the Fremont board of trustees has taken a formal stand on it.
Cupertino board President Debbie Byron said she does not anticipate aggressively pursuing the funds, in part because "most of the funds will go to crowded schools, and we aren't in that situation."
"We don't even qualify for most of the funds," she said.
Cupertino board member Barry Chang said the district should aggressively pursue the funds, noting that any funding would help the district become better.
"California spends $25,000 a year on prison inmates, and $8,000 a year is spent on students," Chang said. "That doesn't make sense to me."
Gerald Matranga, deputy superintendent for Cupertino, said he would support the measure even if it means little or none of the funds come to the district. "The basic thing is that there is a tremendous need and we, as educators, need to support it for the good of education statewide," he said.
The Cupertino school district has fared well without the help of state funds for reconstruction, district officials said.
It has modernized 11 schools with $67 million from the sale of surplus buildings and leasing of buildings, the finance director said. Funds from a $71 million bond issue approved by voters last year have been used to modernize the remaining 12 schools and to cover the cost of computer networks at all the schools.
The Sunnyvale Elementary School District has put a similar general-obligation bond on a special June ballot that would provide $34 million to make repairs to many of its elementary schools.
Fremont won't be going after any funds because it might have to give up too much to get them, said board President G. Franklin Pelkey.
The district receives revenues from the leasing of Sunnyvale High School, closed in the early 1980s because of reduced enrollment. If the district accepts the bond funds, it would give up ownership of the land and about $1 million in yearly lease revenues, Pelkey said.
"For what we might get, it would be unwise to let the property go," he said. "There may come a time when the school district can apply for the funds, but the rules have to change."
Gene Longinetti, coordinator of property management and services, said another condition could result in the state garnering fees a developer pays the district for building homes near a school. The fees are to compensate the district for bringing in more students to an area.
Associate Superintendent Joe Hamilton said bond funds would most likely go to districts with crowding problems. Fremont wouldn't qualify because crowding is not a critical problem, he said.
To generate funds to modernize the high schools, the district may ask the public to approve a local bond measure, similar to the one passed for the Cupertino district, Pelkey said.
Meanwhile, the Foothill-De Anza College board of trustees, through a resolution, urged residents and students to be aware of the impact of the bond measure.
De Anza College seeks funds to improve and expand the Child Development Center and the Learning Center and other facilities and equipment.
"Proposition 203 is an important continuous step," said Chancellor Leo Chavez. "These things will help our students compete for jobs in this valley."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 20, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.