Unsafe wiring. Decrepit portables. Broken toilets. Crowded schools, with offices and hallways turned into makeshift classrooms.

Two years ago, voters urgently responded to the crumbling state of California schools by passing Proposition 47, $13 billion in construction bonds. It was a vote of support for public education, a gift to the next generation.

It was also, however, half a gift -- one hand clapping. On March 2, voters can complete what they started by passing Proposition 55, the second half of the $25.3 billion school construction plan that the Legislature has put on the ballot. That vote should be cast generously and without reservation.

The timing's not great, with the state stumbling out of a recession. But an indisputable need remains. Instead of seeking one gargantuan bond, the Legislature intended that Props. 47 and 55 be companions; however, even the two won't fully make up for decades of neglect.

Nearly all of Prop. 47's money has now been spoken for; a failure to pass Prop. 55 will mean some critical repairs won't get done.

Of the $12.3 billion, $10 billion will go toward K-12 schools, half for new construction. The rest will be divided among community colleges, the University of California and California State University campuses -- all of which will struggle over the next decade to keep pace with surging enrollments.

At San Jose State University, Prop. 55 funds would build a science building with new biochemistry and molecular biology laboratories. It'll fund an arts complex at San Jose City College, computer and chemistry labs at West Valley College, a performing arts facility at De Anza College and a science complex at Foothill College.

Prop. 55 includes safeguards against waste, which is why the always skeptical California Taxpayers' Assn. has joined a large coalition endorsing it.

Passage is far from assured. In an unfortunate coincidence, Prop. 55 will be on the ballot with Prop. 57, another bond issue, pushed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, seeking $15 billion to wipe out the state budget deficit.

A safe, clean, well-equipped school is a basic right, too long ignored, of every schoolchild in California. Long-term bonds are the right way to fund them. The time to pass them is now.