Orange Unified trustees tonight will consider authorizing a March 2004 bond election to raise $200 million for school needs - money that could give them leverage to get $109 million more in state funds.

The bond measure is the largest for a K-12 district in the county, but falls well below some passed by large districts elsewhere in the state.

It also won't come close to covering the $712 million in facility needs Orange Unified identified in July.

Property owners in district boundaries would pay an average of $39.29 per $100,000 assessed property value annually for 30 years to repay the bonds.

"Being a parent and someone who supports the kids in the schools, I just hope the community realizes that the kids need this," said Gisela Meier, former president of the PTA Council and a member of the volunteer Facilities Advisory Committee.

District officials estimate they have about $90 million to pay for facility improvements. The money is culled from reserves, savings from installation of energy-saving equipment and refinancing of certificates of participation.

If voters approve the $200 million bond issue, Orange Unified becomes eligible for up to $109 million of the $12.3 billion statewide education bond also proposed on the March 2004 ballot.

Orange Unified officials propose to fix facilities at all schools and build classrooms to ease crowding. More than half the district's 42 schools are more than 40 years old. And 600 new students join the district annually.

No funding is proposed to build schools at the Irvine Co.'s proposed developments at Mountain Park and east of Orange.