5: A School for Johnny

They had begged and pleaded and prodded for years. And finally voters responded.

Communities throughout the county opened their pocketbooks to pay for new campuses and to shore up old classrooms.

As good times rolled through the local economy, bullish residents in six school districts said yes to bond issues totaling $226 million.

In June, voters in the Ventura, Ocean View and Oxnard elementary districts approved measures worth $142 million.

Ventura’s $81-million issue, which passed with unusually strong support, was the largest in county history. It guaranteed construction of a new elementary school and provided money for a magnet high school.

“I’ll tell you, 75%, that’s overwhelming support,” Ventura Supt. Joseph Spirito said.

By contrast, Oxnard’s $57-million bond passed with barely 100 votes to spare, after failing three months earlier. It will pay for two new elementary schools.

The November election brought victories for three more districts in Camarillo, El Rio and Ojai.

Camarillo’s elementary district gained nearly 71% support to scale the two-thirds hurdle it failed to clear four previous times.

“This is a very difficult thing to do,” Howard Hamilton, the Camarillo district’s associate superintendent, said of the 66.6% super-majority required to pass school bonds. “Unless you’ve done it, you can’t appreciate it.”

Officials in Thousand Oaks and Moorpark can vouch for that. Their $97-million and $16-million measures will be back on their respective ’98 ballots.

“Our needs haven’t changed,” explained Supt. Jerry Gross of the Conejo Valley district.