The shower room is so dilapidated in Patterson High School's gym that some students refuse to use it.

In Modesto, 20 classrooms at Downey High School and 68 at Davis High lack air conditioning, depending on windows and fans to cool students on hot days.

The Hart-Ransom Union District needs $1.7 million for its first renovations since the 1960s.

Those districts are among scores in line for repairs, modernization or new buildings that Proposition 55, the $12.3 billion bond measure, could fund.

The Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act on the March 2 ballot is the second half of $25.35 billion in bonds the Legislature authorized in 2002. The first half, authorizing $13.05 billion in bonds, was approved in November 2002.

Proposition 55 would put $10 billion into building, modernizing and relieving overcrowded public schools. It also allots $2.3 billion for higher education.

Among the many projects that could be paid for by the bond measure:

$6.7 million to make seven University of California at Davis buildings earthquake safe.

$18.5 million to replace old and decaying natural gas and electric lines at California State University, Monterey Bay.

$17.4 million for construction of lecture space and labs at Sierra College in Rocklin.
And the list goes on.

At Cosumnes River College in south Sacramento, community college students are packed into crowded science labs and teachers still have to turn away students because there isn't room, said Katherine McLain, dean of the college's science, math and engineering department.

The labs are built for 30 students or less, but "most teachers carry 35," McLain said. "We're pushing the limits of safety to do that."

Computers are stored with the cadavers because the outdated lab, built when the college was new in 1970, doesn't have the technology to support computer stations, she said.

Double the space a possibility

If Proposition 55 is approved, the science building will get new lab space and lecture halls, effectively doubling its space, she said.

There is no doubt that California needs new schools and has a long list of maintenance projects, but the state's building rules make school construction more costly than other building projects, said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, a conservative organization that opposes Proposition 55.

School construction is regulated by the Field Act, which sets standards stricter than the rest of California's building codes.

That unnecessarily drives up the price, Spence said.

"There needs to be reform in how we do school construction to make it more efficient, and this bond does none of that, so it wastes money," said Spence.

His group doesn't plan on raising money to campaign against it, he said, but will rely on a grass-roots effort.

"If you look at who is supporting the campaign, it's all the people who will benefit by having the bonds passed: the financial companies, the contractors," Spence said. "It's only us little taxpayers who are against it."

Interest on bonds is costly

Spence's group also objects to financing school construction with bonds because the interest payments nearly double the cost to taxpayers.

The legislative analyst estimates that the measure would cost taxpayers about $24.7 billion over 30 years, including $12.4 billion in interest, or about $823 million annually. The bond and interest are repaid from the state's general fund.

Poll says 52% in favor

A Field Poll from mid-January found that voters were nearly split on the school bonds, with

52 percent in favor. That poll found that 36 percent of voters would vote "no" and 12 percent were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's $15 billion deficit bond measure wasn't polling as well, with 33 percent of likely voters approving of the bond.

The poll was taken before Schwarzenegger began to campaign around the state to support his bond measure.

Bond supporters said they'd rather not have to compete with Schwarzenegger's $15 billion deficit bond measure, but are confident that California voters will again support education.

The last statewide education bond -- the $13 billion Proposition 47 -- won with about 59 percent of the vote in a year that saw a "conservative electorate," said Bill Hauck, president of the California Business Roundtable, a supporter of Proposition 55.

That bond is helping to pay for a number of local projects, such as Modesto City Schools' Joseph A. Gregori High School in the Salida area. The $70 million project received $23.4 million from the state bond.

If Proposition 55 fails in March, it will reappear on the November ballot. That would give supporters another chance to persuade voters, but would delay construction and repairs.

On the Net: Read the initiative at www.voterguide.ss.ca.gov;

Yes on 55 -- Californians for Accountability and Better Schools: www.yeson55.com;

California Taxpayer Protection Committee: www.protecttaxpayers.com.