When this evening’s special School Board meeting commences at 6 o’clock in the School District’s Board room, the triumphantly resuscitated bond measure campaign probably will begin to seem real to many parents for the first time since the first try abruptly died last summer.
Results of community polling are the most eagerly awaited centerpiece of the agenda.
Drama-free, though it seems likely to be.
There may not be a single resident who believes that the recent survey of Culver City will differ more than a whisker from last June’s when community members gave their overwhelming approval to a bond measure.
Bond measure supporters also recall that the onesided support failed to keep the campaign breathing for a November ballot measure vote.
On July 1 – a date that will live in bond measure infamy – former School Board member Karlo Silbiger led a brief but very hard charge, recruiting former member Prof. Patricia Siever and holdover Nancy Goldberg to his sudden and startling cause.
Reading a prepared 950-word statement, Mr. Silbiger said not enough critical details were known about mounting an expensive campaign. Less than 40 days remained before the deadline for submitting a ballot statement. He repeatedly emphasized the risk was too great to undertake at that time.
The audience was staggered, and so was the community.
Whether this verdict factored significantly into Mr. Silbiger’s surprising failure to win re-election remains a matter of debate. He says no.
With Sue Robins and Dr. Steve Levin replacing Ms. Siever and Mr. Silbiger, there does not seem the smallest doubt that a bond measure campaign for $60 million or more will win lopsided School Board backing.
No surprises tonight, say insiders.
