Bret Harte to place bond plan on ballot

By Krissi Krob

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Posted: Friday, June 27, 2008 10:27 AM CDT

In addition to deciding who their president, congressional representative and county supervisor will be, citizens will vote in November on whether to pay an additional parcel tax to support facilities projects in the Bret Harte Union High School District.

On Monday, the board of education voted to pursue a general bond election to raise funds for the school district. While no amount has been specified yet, the district will probably seek about $18 million in 25-year bonds, Superintendent Michael Chimente said.

During the 2007-08 school year, the district conducted a facilities needs assessment that included staff and community meetings and surveys to gauge what improvements need to be made in the district, and what new projects should be implemented. The results of those meetings were incorporated into the Facilities Master Plan.

If the bond measure passes, the funds will be used to construct a new two-story classroom building that will incorporate state-of-the-art science classrooms; will build an aquatic center; and will fund the renovation of the district’s heating and air-conditioning systems. Of the approved funds, $2 million will be set aside for the Copperopolis area to help pay for joint-use projects and the possible construction of a high school.

A public meeting will be held Monday, June 30, at the district boardroom, 323 S. Main St., Angels Camp. The open session of the meeting begins at 7 p.m. During the meeting, the board will “wordsmith” a resolution to present to the county giving notice that it is going to proceed with the election. The board will make sure the resolution contains all of the necessary information and that it correctly lists the projects funded by the passage of the bond.

For the complete story, see Friday’s print or e-Edition.

Comment (1 comment(s))

jake wallace wrote on Jun 28, 2008 7:59 AM:

" Before the voters agree to hand over any bond money to Bret Harte we need an investigation on fiscal decisions at Bret Harte first.

The 2005/06 & 2006/07 GJ failed to investigate allegations against board member(s), Joan Lark, and the high school.

We have Judge John Martin, DA Jeff Tuttle and 2006/07 GJ Foreman, Gary Tofanelli, to thank for zero accountability of any county public officials.

Can Joan Lark publicly explain the district's handling of Moser vs. Bret Harte and federal Judge Wagner's, scathing 87-page publicly recorded ruling that Bret Harte and their law firm, Lazano Smith, "misrepresented the facts" and "placed education law on its head." Why would Bret Harte pay Lazano Smith, $500,000 for a case that they could have settled for $8,000, 7-years before?

Can Lark explain to the public how Bret Harte and county superintendent, John Brophy, managed to have
Commissioner Roscoe (now a Tuolumne Co. judge) removed from a California Superior court case and have judge pro tem, Grant Barrett, (now the commissioner) who is not accountable to the state bar or judicial commission subvert a court case over civil rights allegations; that Bret Harte and Brophy attempted to earlier squash with public funds?

Is it coincidence that Bret Harte's conduct with Lozano Smith is identical to this court case? "

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