ORANGE – Orange Unified School District hasn't gotten $200 million yet, but for a few minutes after a board meeting Thursday night, the board room was rich in smiles and hugs.

The trustees had just voted 7-0 to authorize a March 2004 bond election to raise money for facility improvements.

How Orange Unified might distribute funds from a $200 million bond
Voters in Orange Unified’s boundaries will consider a $200 million bond for facility improvements in March 2004. At the same time, voters across the state will consider a $12.3 billion statewide education bond.
Orange Unified’s bond resolution lists the amounts of state modernization and new-construction grants its schools may become eligible for if voters approve both the local and state bond issues. Still to be worked out is how much each school would receive in bond money.

Elementary schools
Anaheim Hills (built 1977) – $996,585
California (1958) – $2.08 million
Cambridge (1951) – $1.53 million
Canyon Hills (1974) – $1.72 million
Canyon Rim (1997) – no state funds listed
Chapman Hills (1989) – no state funds listed
Crescent Primary and Intermediate (1965-68) – $2.25 million
Esplanade (1961) – $2.15 million
Fairhaven (1965) – $1.81 million
Fletcher (1965) – $2.94 million
Handy (1960) – $3.09 million
Imperial (1976) – $1.57 million
Jordan (1962) – $2.41 million
La Veta (1963) – $3.18 million
Lampson (1962) – $3.09 million
Linda Vista (1968) – $1.90 million
McPherson Magnet (1960) – $3.21 million
Nohl Canyon (1969) – $2.44 million
Olive (1951) – no state funds listed.
Palmyra (1951) – $1.92 million
Panorama (1966) – $1.26 million
Prospect (1965) – $2.16 million
Riverdale (1965) – $1.59 million
Running Springs (1999) – $996,585
Serrano (1962) – $1.97 million
Silverado (1956) – $412,090
Sycamore (1956) – $1.74 million
Taft (1961) $3.63 million
Villa Park (1956) – $2.59 million
West Orange (1961) – $2.11 million
Middle schools
Cerro Villa (1963) – $2.87 million
El Rancho (1974) – $4.63 million
Portola (1959) – $3.41 million
Santiago (1973) – $4.67 million
Yorba (1956) – $2.80 million
High Schools
Canyon (1972) – $6.35 million
El Modena (1972) – $996,585
Orange (1953) – $9.10 million
Richland Continuation (1962) – $1.89 million
Villa Park (1963) – $10.96 million

Other proposed construction projects to be funded by an unspecified amount of matching state grants: New high school at former Peralta Junior High School site, a second elementary school on Lampson Elementary campus, more classrooms at Silverado Elementary, a new junior high school, a new central kitchen, a new special-education center, continued planning of staff relocation from district headquarters.

Now comes the tough part.

For the next seven months, district officials - without spending a dime to plead a position on the bond, as required by law - will have to convince local voters that Orange Unified needs their dollars.

"I think it's going to follow pretty much the classic campaign," trustee Bob Viviano said Friday. "We're going to have to improve the flow of information. I think we're going to have a speaker's bureau. I think there will be mailings."

Another possibility is to get a district employee or volunteer to staff a telephone hot line to answer questions from the public. The bond would pay for renovation of aging facilities and construction of classrooms to relieve crowding. The district says it must do things like upgrade restrooms, improve access for disabled students, renovate electrical systems and make campuses safer.

Nearly all the 19 people who spoke at Thursday's meeting, including Orange and Villa Park council members, said they supported a bond.

But district officials don't expect a sure thing. Several residents already said they would oppose the bond.

Anaheim Hills resident Jason Hufnagel estimated he'd have to pay about $83 a year.

"I pay federal income tax, I pay state income tax ... we have sales tax, gas tax ... for me, it's going to cost $300 more to register my car. This is the context for my $83 increase."

More than half the district's 42 schools are more than 40 years old, and the district is growing by 600 students annually.

"It's not a matter of putting a bit of paint on it, it's not a matter of cosmetic improvements. It's a matter of having to go in to make some large systemic improvements to make some changes," Viviano said.

The measure will require approval from 55 percent of the voters living within district boundaries. Property owners would pay an average of $39.29 per $100,000 assessed property value annually for 30 years to repay the bonds.

A successful $200 million local bond could make Orange Unified eligible for up to $109 million of a $12.3 billion statewide education bond also proposed for the March ballot.

Neighboring school districts like Tustin Unified and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified already have approved local bonds, which in turn secured state funds. "We need to be competitive with the other school districts," trustee Melissa Smith said.

But even if Orange Unified gets approval for a local bond and state matching funds, it doesn't come close to meeting the $712 million in identified facility needs. The district estimates it has saved $90 million so far for improvements.

Trustees will have to decide which projects on the wish list of improvements and new construction will be a priority.