Petaluma High has become a poster child for schools in disrepair in campaign ads for Proposition 55, a $12.3 billion state school bond measure.

But the picture of broken tile and plumbing sticking out of a wall being shown on Bay Area television stations wasn't taken at Petaluma High.

It's actually from Kenilworth Junior High, district officials said.

Prop. 55 campaign officials said the 30-second ad will be corrected by this weekend.

Although the TV ad identified the wrong school, Petaluma High administrators said they did recognize two photos depicting a leaky ceiling and boarded-up windows that were included in a campaign flier mailed to North Bay voters.

"We're very much in favor of helping out, but we were a little surprised when we saw our picture," Assistant Principal Jake Colburn said this week.

He said the pictures don't give a very favorable view of Petaluma schools, adding that it hurts their pride a bit. But school officials said the ads zero in on some of the of the district's worst problems.

"While the ads have been a little confusing and somewhat deceptive, the need for the money is truly there," said John Silvestrini, the director of facilities development for Petaluma schools.

The TV ad is one of four being broadcast statewide, each focusing on schools in a different region.

As a narrator describes broken bathrooms, the ad briefly shows a photo of rusty exposed plumbing and poorly patched tile in a bathroom that Silvestrini said is still in use at Kenilworth.

He said the school has postponed repairs because the district is plans to sell the school this year and build a new junior high on the east side of town.

In the mailer, there are photos of the aging D-wing building at Petaluma High taken in early January after tiles blew off the roof and water leaked into the band room.

The leak has since been repaired, but the entire building would be remodeled and modernized -- as most of the campus has been during the past decade -- if the bond measure passes on March 2, said Steve Bolman, who's in charge of finances for the district.

Accompanying the Petaluma High photos is a description that says the school was "built before World War II." That's true, but almost all the campus has been remodeled except for the D-wing, the wood shop, an old locker room and an agriculture building.

The ads were produced and paid for by the "Yes on Proposition 55" campaign.

Campaign Manager Kam Kuwata said he'll correct the 30-second television commercial today to place the bathroom at Kenilworth.

"We admit the mistake and it's being changed," he said.

Kuwata said recent polls show a very tight race with barely enough support for Prop. 55, which needs a simple majority to pass.

If it does pass, money from the $12.5 billion bond measure could only be used to repair old classrooms or build new ones.

Sonoma County school districts would be eligible for about $60.4 million in matching funds from the measure.

Petaluma area districts would be eligible for $15.7 million in matching funds, including $9.5 million for the Petaluma city school districts, $2.7 million for Waugh, $2.2 million for Old Adobe and $383,000 for Cinnabar, according to Kathy Fairbanks of the Prop. 55 campaign.

A photographer for the campaign came to Petaluma in early January to take photographs, and Silvestrini said he took him to Kenilworth, Cherry Valley and Petaluma High schools on an hour-long tour of problem spots.

"Once you turn it over to a campaign you don't have control over it," Silvestrini said.

He said Prop. 55 money would be used to replace portable classrooms at both high schools with real buildings as well as for several school modernization projects.

"If it doesn't pass we won't go ahead with the projects or they will be greatly reduced," Silvestrini said.