Pockets of opposition are rising against the $450 million Measure C, as small groups of parents and residents vow to defeat the bond at the Sept. 16 election.

Opposition leaders say their grass-roots efforts include the work of some 100 to 150 parents and residents in Hercules, Richmond, El Cerrito and San Pablo -- many of them longtime critics of the district.

"This bond will put the school district about a billion dollars in debt," said Sue Pricco, a member of For the Kids We Care, a Hercules-based group against the bond measure.

"We're really not sure they're keeping up with their promises of solid fiscal management."

Measure C is meant to finish reconstruction and renovation work at the West Contra Costa school district's aging campuses.

The $450 million bond would "enable the district to complete every project in every school in every part of the district," according to the school district's argument in favor of the measure, which is included in the voter information guide.

But those pushing to defeat the measure argue that the district has misspent the money it already has, and they question the need for another school bond.

"The real goal is to make property owners and taxpayers out here realize maybe this isn't the right time," said Michael Ali, a Richmond parent and leader of Community for the Families of the Safety of Our Children.

Since 1999, West Contra Costa voters have approved three school construction bonds totaling $450 million.

About $320 million in bonds has been issued. Of that money, about $88 million had been spent as of May 31, according to school district records.

Pricco and other opponents, who are working against a Measure C campaign that's raised some $287,000 from powerful union and trade groups, say the tax burden is not worth the end result.

"We're the ones that have to pay for it, and we're not getting our money's worth," said Pricco, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for school board last year.

"For the amount of money I'm paying, what am I getting back? We don't get good answers. So until such time that we have responsible money management, then I'm not going to be in favor of these big bonds."

Kevin Reikes, the Sacramento-based campaign manager for Measure C, said those arguments don't work.

"From what I've seen out there, (these are) the same people who've opposed every single school bond," Reikes said.

"If they don't believe in the clean, safe schools that our district needs, that is a legitimate position to take. But to cloak their arguments in concerns about fiscal management or budgetary concerns is disingenuous."