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Sunnyvale's Newspaper

FUHSD gauges support for April bond measure

Aging buildings need an overhaul, ofÞcials say

By Katherine Petersen

The high school district will likely ask voters to pay for repairs to its aging school buildings at a special election in April.

A district facilities committee that has been touring schools and speaking with consultants for the past year and a half about the state of the district's campuses is now preparing a report for the school board.

Superintendent Joe Hamilton said he will recommend that the board pass a resolution for a bond measure based on what he knows so far of the committee's report.

Two of the biggest issues are electricity and plumbing, but the buildings also have leaking roofs, faulty air conditioning and a host of other problems, said Gene Longinetti, the district's coordinator of property management.

The district's newest school, Monta Vista, is 28 years old. The oldest school in the district is Fremont, which was built in 1925.

"They're old and falling apart on us, just like a 30-year-old house," Longinetti said. "The roofs are bad. The plumbing's bad. The restrooms are bad. We need to bring the electrical systems up to code and deal with the structural issues."

The 30-member facilities committee includes parents, teachers, students, business leaders, administrators and classified employees.

"I personally inspected all the schools," said Leslie Hay, a Monta Vista parent on the committee. "The roofs are leaking, and walls and sinks are cracked. We wouldn't drink out of some of these water fountains."

A date for a board study session to review the committee's report has not been set, Longinetti said. After receiving the report, board members would then decide whether or not to move forward with a bond measure.

If the board passed a resolution for a bond measure by early December, it could appear on the ballot as early as the April 14 special election.

Longinetti could not estimate the amount of a possible bond.

The district recently sent letters and questionnaires to 28,000 registered voters, asking them to prioritize issues.

"We're trying to get a feel for how the community would respond to a bond," Longinetti said.

The district received positive responses from a telephone survey of 400 active voters last spring, Longinetti said.

"All the repairs done now are patchwork, like fixing a dam, when what we really need is a new dam," Hay said. "The district is doing a good job trying to keep up, with the funds they have. But they don't have enough to do all that's needed."

Students' ability to learn is affected by the schools' poor conditions, Longinetti said.

"You see the heating and air conditioning breaking down, and water mains breaking," he said. "The classrooms aren't comfortable for learning when it's too cool, too hot or the roof leaks."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 8, 1997.
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