On a day when they rejected everything else put before them, voters sounded an unmistakable vote of confidence in the ongoing push to build and repair hundreds of Los Angeles Unified School District campuses by easily passing a $4-billion construction bond.
Beyond the bricks and mortar, the surprisingly wide margin of victory for Measure Y served as vindication for schools' chief Roy Romer, who shepherded the bond to victory despite a host of doubters and strategic disadvantages.
Although critics warn that the district still must grapple with high dropout rates and poor academic performance at many schools, the win seems certain to strengthen Romer's hand as he tries to cement his legacy in the final 18 months of his tenure.
"To be sure, there are still major issues facing this district," said Shane Martin, dean of the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. "But this shows that Los Angeles is very positive on what Romer has contributed as superintendent."
Measure Y, which needed 55% approval for passage, received nearly 66% of the vote. It marks the fourth time since 1997 that taxpayers have eagerly agreed to help fund the ambitious building and renovation program in one of the nation's most overcrowded urban school systems. In total, voters in the district have now approved about $13.5 billion in school bonds.
Romer and his staff have said Measure Y represents the final deposit of cash needed to finish what is widely considered to be the largest public works project in the country. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the effort has already opened 46 campuses and calls for about 115 more, providing enough new seats in the 727,000-student district to end forced busing and year-round school schedules.
Such expansion is sorely needed in a district that for decades neglected to build new schools while enrollment swelled by tens of thousands of students, most of them lower-income Latinos. Bond campaign officials said they targeted the parents of these students, hoping enough would turn out to vote for the bond.
"There was a message here that parents are tired of sending their children to overcrowded schools and tired of putting them on buses for hours every day," said Araceli Simeon-Luna, a director at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "They are beginning to see schools being built and repaired, and I think that helped with the momentum on Tuesday."
