Ventura County Measures Strike Out on 2nd Pitch

Startled by losses at the polls, backers of multimillion-dollar school bonds in Moorpark and Thousand Oaks on Wednesday pointed to a slew of explanations, including voter complacency and anger at seeing the same measures twice in five months.

Supporters and foes of Moorpark’s $16-million bond and Conejo Valley’s $97-million measure sought to explain why voters in eastern Ventura County--an area known for good schools--rejected bond measures Tuesday while residents in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo and Ojai recently approved similar measures.

No single answer fit the bill.

“Ultimately, I’m baffled. I thought these would make it,” said Herbert Gooch, an associate professor of political science at Cal Lutheran University. “But I think a lot of people thought, ‘What the hell’s going on here? We just voted on these bonds.’ That might have created a little animosity.”

Although official results aren’t expected until Friday, unofficial counts show the Conejo bond failed with 63.3% of the vote, shy of the two-thirds majority necessary for approval. Moorpark’s bond failed with 61% in favor.

Both measures came closer to approval when first placed before voters in November. The bond failures were blamed on a variety of factors: a lack of flashy, tangible renovations; fiscal conservatism and socioeconomic factors, among them.

“I wish I knew why these two bonds didn’t pass,” Ventura County Schools Supt. Charles Weis said. “Both these communities seem proud of their schools. . . . Sometimes people are just penny-wise and pound-foolish.”

Former Moorpark Councilwoman Eloise Brown suggested that residents were peeved to see school bonds they defeated in November back on the ballot so soon. In addition, pushing a costly special election in April, when the June primary and the November election are just around the corner, “was seen as particularly arrogant,” she said.