Campaign kicks in to sell school bond

Tammy Rambo is dialing voters from a room sparsely furnished with tables and phones.

Seated near a stack of cold pizzas, Rambo is a volunteer in the phone bank established to promote Question 2, a school bond issue on the Nov. 3 ballot that will affect property taxes in Clark County for the next 10 years.

Rambo deliberately plods down a list of registered voters, holding the phone in one hand and her squirming infant son, Triston, with the other.

She talks to some who support the bond referendum. Others don't. Many have never heard of a school bond. Sometimes, voices on the other end of her phone surprise her.

"The person you are calling for is dead," was one answer.

Welcome to the front lines in the campaign to drum up voter support for what has been called the "mother of all school bonds."

It's not always a glamorous and sophisticated operation. But it is comprehensive, targeting voters all over the county.

Besides the phone calls, voters can expect to see television commercials and slick mailing brochures in the coming days. On Oct. 17, a wide net of volunteers around the county will hang pamphlets on doorknobs.

There's a lot at stake. In short, the ballot measure would freeze property taxes for 10 years at the current level -- the highest level allowed by law for school taxes. That's roughly $193 in annual taxes on a $100,000 house.

If voters approve the measure, the tax freeze would provide a continual flow of money -- about $2.5 billion over the 10 years -- to the school district. Officials say they need the money to renovate old buildings and build 88 new schools in the next decade.

If voters defeat the measure, property taxes would decrease as old school bonds retire. Voters approved a combined $1.25 billion in 1994 and 1996.

If the November referendum fails, school officials vow to seek another bond issue in two years.

Tied to the bond issue are two other revenue sources for school building. A new room tax would raise an estimated $662 million from casinos in the next 10 years. A new property tax would raise $356 million from home buyers.

That money, combined with the $2.5 billion from property taxpayers, would create a $3.5 billion budget for school building and renovation.

"We've got to do two things very well in the next month," said Brian Cram, superintendent of the Clark County School District. "We've got to clearly identify the fact that we are going to have massive growth. And two, we've got to make it clear that we need to give the kids in our older schools the same opportunities they have in our newer buildings."

Some bond opponents have argued that district officials are over-estimating their needs. Others say the 10-year flow of money leaves too much room for waste.

"These people are saying that we should give them $2.5 billion and then they will drop back in on us in 10 years and let us know how it went," said Knight Allen, a former state Senate candidate who has closely followed the school bond-issue proposal. "That's not how the system is supposed to work. You are taking the people out of the process for an entire decade."

Ken Mahal, president of Nevada Seniors Coalition, a supporter of year-round schedules for all of the county's schools, recently wrote a newsletter column slamming the bond proposal. He said the district has not wisely spent some previous bond money.

"We're just flat-out asking the seniors to vote against it," Mahal said.

School officials say the bottom line is that schools face crisis crowding now and the problem promises to get much worse. Student enrollment has nearly doubled in the past 10 years.

"Basically, what people want to know is, 'Do you really need it (bond)?' And, 'Can I trust you with my money?"' said Joyce Haldeman, who manages bonds for the school district. "When people understand the issues, they are genG

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