Officials in 3 School Districts Savor Bond Election Victories

School district officials in San Marino, Downey and Baldwin Park on Wednesday celebrated a windfall of millions of dollars each after voters in the three communities overwhelmingly supported new school bonds Tuesday to pay for basic repairs and improvements.

“I didn’t sleep a wink last night,� said Thomas Godley, the superintendent of the San Marino Unified School District. “They voted at 75.8% in favor of taxing themselves at a relatively high rate--it shows the support they have for the public schools.�

About half of San Marino’s residents will pay more than $218 in additional taxes, based on the assessed value of their homes, to support the bonds.

In Palmdale, however, school administrators began mapping out a way to deal with a hair’s-breath loss Tuesday on an $81-million school bond measure that would have built more kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms. A bit less than 64% of the voters in that contest supported an $18-million bond issue--about 2 percentage points shy of the necessary two-thirds support needed for passage.

For now, 18,200 Palmdale students will continue to attend schools originally designed for 12,000 pupils.

The $15 million approved in Baldwin Park, $27.5 million in Downey and $34.3 million in San Marino--each of which was supported by more than 72% of the voters--will be earmarked for such things as repairing roofs, wiring and plumbing. Administrators in San Marino and Downey have said they will build classrooms and laboratories.

In Long Beach, Delano Roosevelt, the great-grandson of the nation’s 32nd president, won a runoff election for the 4th District City Council seat by a little more than 100 votes over Dennis Carroll. The two had led a field of five candidates in an April 9 election to succeed Tom Clark, who resigned in November after 30 years on the council.

“It was extremely nerve-racking because the Roosevelts’ tradition seems to be landslides,� the new councilman said.

Alhambra Police Capt. Jeffrey W. Templeman was getting used to the idea of a new job Wednesday after voters chose him for a vacant San Dimas City Council seat over former Councilwoman Maria Tortorelli. Templeman received 1,615 votes to Tortorelli’s 1,425. Curt Morris gave up the seat to become mayor, replacing Terry Dipple, who resigned after being convicted of fraud and forgery.

The successful bond measures could portend good things for administrators of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Frustrated with its inability to get sufficient funding from the state, the district has been weighing the possibility of placing a $2.4-billion school construction and technology bond on the November ballot.

A public opinion poll conducted last month found more than the required two-thirds support among likely voters, although approval dropped below two-thirds when people were told that it could boost their property taxes $100 or more annually.

The Los Angeles Board of Education is scheduled to vote on whether to go forward with its bond on June 17.

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SOUTHLAND ELECTION RETURNS

* LONG BEACH

City Council

District 4

17 of 17 Precincts Reporting

*--*

CANDIDATE VOTE % Delano Roosevelt 1,952 51.5 Dennis Carroll 1,834 48.4

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* SAN DIMAS

City Council (One elected)

12 of 12 Precincts Reporting

*--*

CANDIDATE VOTE % Jeffrey W. Templeman 1,615 53 Maria Tortorelli 1,425 47

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Ballot Measures

* BALDWIN PARK Unified School District

11 of 11 Precincts Reporting

Measure B *

Shall the district be authorized to finance repairs by issuing bonds of up to $15 million?

*--*

VOTE % For 1,001 72.9 Against 372 27.1

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* DOWNEY

31 of 31 Precincts Reporting

Measure D *

Shall the district be authorized to finance repairs at schools built more than 35 years ago and construct new classrooms and laboratories at each school throughout the district by issuing bonds of up to $27.5 million?

*--*

VOTE % For 5,065 74 Against 1,780 26

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* PALMDALE

24 of 24 Precincts Reporting

Proposition A (*)

Shall the district be authorized to finance more classrooms for elementary and middle schoolsby issuing bonds of up to $18 million?

*--*

VOTE % For 2,706 63.67 Against 1,544 36.32

*--*

* SAN MARINO Unified School District

6 of 6 Precincts Reporting

Measure R *

Shall the district be authorized to finance the repair, renovation and construction of district facilities by issuing bonds of up to $34.3 million?

*--*

VOTE % For 3,127 75.8 Against 997 24.2

*--*

* Needed two-thirds support for passage

Note: Counting of late and absentee ballots could alter the outcome in some races

*

Times staff writer Amy Pyle and correspondent John M. Gonzales contributed to this story.