DISTRICT PLANS ITS STRATEGY.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Organizing small ``armies,'' huddling over maps maps the size of area rugs and recruiting supporters is the kind of activity one associates with military operations.

But it's that kind of precision the William S. Hart Union High School District will use to campaign its most ambitious capital improvement initiative - a $52 million November bond referendum.

With an 80 percent reimbursement rate from the state, the bond would cover the junior and senior high school district's contribution to an all-inclusive $227 million plan to build three new high schools and two junior high schools within five years, as well as modernize existing ones, officials said.

``We need an army of people to inform the voters on this,'' Assistant Superintendent Mike von Buelow, an overseer in the campaign, advised school officials at a recent meeting.

Newhall Elementary School District Superintendent Marc Winger can drive that message home better than anyone.

It was just last month that Newhall Elementary School District voters barely passed Measure K, a $35.5 million bond referendum to refurbish elementary campuses, by a slim, 69 percent majority. Like the Hart district bond, the one for the Newhall district required a 66.6 percent, or two-thirds, majority vote. Newhall voters approved Measure K, effectually increasing the average household's property tax bills by $86 per year.

``It's that involved,'' Winger said of the exhaustive campaign foreseen for the Hart District over the next four months. ``If you don't do it that way and that strategically, you're not going to win.''

Coordination between volunteers and school officials was paramount for the Newhall district, he recalled, as they went to great lengths to reach individual voters and inform them of the necessities for the bond, citing overcrowding in the elementary schools.

Rather than stake signs on lawns - which does little to educate the public on issues - Newhall bond supporters telephoned or sent letters to individual voters identified as undecided on the issue.

``We knew there was a whole group of people who would most likely vote yes on a bond issue, and that was primarily parents and educators. But we also knew there was a whole group who would vote `absolutely not,' and there was no changing their minds,'' Winger said.

He added, ``What will turn people to the `yes' column is information, based on need. We found most people were willing to pay a little more each year, if they felt that it was necessary for their community.''

Consultants for the Hart district have studied the passage of the Newhall bond exhaustively and have conducted preliminary pollings to see where the public stands on junior and high school renovations, additions and new construction.

After listening to a 15-minute explanation, 65 percent of Santa Clarita residents polled said they would favor a bond that increased their taxes by $17 per $100,000 assessed property value. Discomfort grew closer to the $20 mark, according to district consultants.

If voters authorize the borrowing of the funds, it would cost property owners $18.05 per every $100,000 assessed value to finance the debt over 25 years, with anticipated interest rates ranging from 4.3 percent to 5.45 percent, according to Superintendent Robert C. Lee's projections.

Faced with a range of bond limits ranging from $48 million to $52 million, with tax increases ranging from $17.37 to $18.05 per $100,000 assessed property values, the Hart board unanimously voted to put the maximum option before voters in November. Since state law allows districts to borrow less, but not more than the voter-approved amount, the board reasoned the district should maintain a ``cushion'' for contingencies.

The Hart district at present maintains 10 schools - one for adult education, continuing education, four junior high and four senior high schools. All would undergo renovations, utility upgrades or additions, school officials said. The proposed bond would increase the number of district high schools from four to seven, and junior high schools from four to six.

Facing an overcrowding crisis in the Hart district that's placed an estimated 35 percent to 40 percent of the students in portable classrooms, school officials aren't taking the high stakes lightly.

As board member Patricia Hanrion put it at a recent meeting, the district walks a tightrope in creating a bond package that adequately addresses overcrowding problems and convincing voters of its merits by November.

For that reason, administrators and board members opted to leave certain whistles and bells, such as a new stadium and swimming pool, out of the total bond package, for fear that ancillary needs might jeopardize funding for ``critical needs, such as the five new schools and modernizations at existing facilities.

Anticipating that proving those needs to voters will be the toughest challenge, Hart district officials have called in the reinforcements.

Besides the board, teachers and administrators, the key players for the Hart district will include consultants specializing in public relations, voter trends, demographics and campaign strategies.

The role of board members and administrators in the campaign will be limited, as they may not advocate the bond while working, but may disseminate information focusing on student needs. They may show their support while they're ``off the clock,'' von Buelow said.

A crucial element of the campaign will be conducted outside the district's jurisdiction, by volunteer citizens who raise their own campaign funds, consultants said. In the Newhall bond campaign, parents and community members formed Yes for Kids, led by parent Colleen Henriques.

The Hart district volunteers will organize grass-roots efforts to distribute mass mailings, set up headquarters with map rooms detailing voter support and lack of support and telephone voters, according to von Buelow. Also, they will knock on residents' doors to promote the referendum.

Making one-on-one contact with the public is key, Winger said, but also requires ``hundreds of people willing to make thousands of contacts with the public over many, many hours of work.''

In hindsight, he recalled how extra efforts from school officials also went a long way in picking up extra votes for the Newhall bond. ``When people received that phone call, they were impressed that people of high levels from the district had called them personally,'' he said.