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Patterson Unified School District trustees discussed at Monday’s meeting how money from a possible bond measure would be used for school construction.

Provided the bond passes in the November election, trustees hope to get $50 million from property owners. With the addition of $18 million in state funds, the district could have $68 million to help with a long list of projects at local schools.

Mark Wheeler, district manager of facilities and construction, urged board members to be precise about what the bond could cover.

“We want to develop a comprehensive list, and then we’ll come back and prioritize it,” Wheeler said. “The advice we are getting is to be more specific.”

Information from the district’s 10-Year Facility Master Plan helps put the needs in focus, along with administrator and consultant visits to school sites and a comprehensive report from Chico-based Jack Schreder and Associates, a school facilities research firm.

A telephone survey conducted by Sacramento-based William Berry Communications Inc. indicated that residents would favor a bond measure. Of 360 respondents surveyed, 58.3 percent said they would support the bond, while 6 percent more leaned toward supporting it. Fifty-five percent of voters must approve the bond for it to pass.

Berry reviewed the survey at the June 23 board meeting and recommended that the district go for a bond that would levy a fee of $60 per $100,000 of assessed home value on property owners.

Meanwhile, trustees also went through the listed needs of school campuses, where a total of 5,600 students are educated. Needs at Patterson High School and the in-progress Walnut Grove School, due to open in 2009, would most likely be included in the bond measure.

Trustees also began to chip away at a list of other projects that could be on the bond measure, moving alphabetically school by school.   

If the bond passes, Wheeler will take cost estimates to the board. Then, trustees will prioritize projects, hitting as many as possible with the money available.

“The public knows what the needs are,” Trustee Susan Scheuber said. “We don’t want to mislead them that all the projects will be done.”

In other school news

The board approved the Academy Program at Creekside Middle School by a 6-1 vote, with Bruce Kelly deciding against.

The program is for seventh-grade students who need help in citizenship, academics or school attendance.

Administrators said 20 students at a time would get one-on-one help from teachers and counselors over a 90-day period before going back to regular classes.

The original annual cost for the Academy Program was $77,000, with $59,000 from state and federal funds. The $18,000 balance would have been drawn from the district’s general fund. Creekside Principal Shawn Posey has cut that balance to $5,000, and the money will come out of categorical funds used for specific school projects, instead of the general fund.