(July 21, 2008) -- A mass mailing sent by the LB Unified School District in a format resembling a political mailer that tells recipients the District needs new facilities, without mentioning a pending proposed $1.2 billion debt bond involving a property tax increase, has landed in local mailboxes just days before the LB Board of Education is set to vote on whether to put the measure on the November 2008 ballot.

The mailer has drawn the attention of some taxpayers and at least one battle-hardened political consultant.

The two color mailer arrived in a number of LB mailboxes on Saturday July 19...with the Board of Education scheduled to vote this afternoon, Monday July 21, on whether to put the measure on the ballot.

Childrens' faces are shown in original, pixeled by LBReport.com

The mailer doesn't mention the proposed ballot measure or its associated property tax increase (details below) but prominently mentions the District's "School Building Improvement Plan." It says the District's Top 3 priorities are keeping schools safe, drug free and gang-free, expanding career education and job training programs...and building more classrooms.

"We must ensure that local students learn in high quality classrooms, with access to computers and other technology" [emphasis in original] it says, and adds "We are currently considering all available funding options to improve schools. Please stay tuned for additional updates."

The mailer cites a checklist of items from its "School Building Improvement Plan," saying the Plan will [in check list form] "retain and attract excellent teachers, expand the after school programs that keep kids off the street and out of trouble, address handicap accessibility requirements, remove lead pain and asbestos from our schools, upgrade and expand instructional technology, such as computer hardware and network infrastructure and retrofit classrooms and schools to meet newer earthquake safety standards."

Details of the debt bond were first disclosed publicly on July 17 with online publication of the School Board's agenda for its July 21 meeting.

As reported July 18 by LBReport.com, the administration cites LBUSD's Facility Master Plan, a detailed document adopted following a lengthy process of community meetings, public discussions and a formal Board vote of approval in January 2008.

The administration says the need has been demonstrated in the plan...and the issue now is how to pay for it...and hence the proposed ballot measure.

The $1.2 billion debt bond would raise property taxes by $5 per month per $100,000 assessed valuation; it requires a 55% vote to pass.

LBReport.com began getting emails about the mailing over the weekend (variously ranging from curious to annoyed).

We contacted LBUSD about it this morning (and followed-up this afternoon), wondering how much the mailing cost and if the District had previously sent mailings in this format preceding a School Board vote on a ballot measure (plus some possible follow-up questions). A response is pending as of 2:20 p.m. [The School Board is scheduled to begin its meeting at 4:00 p.m.]

The mailer left long-time LB political consultant Tracy Kittinger fuming...and she phoned LBReport.com on Saturday July 19 to say so. Ms. Kittinger, who was part of Dee Andrews' successful 2007 race for City Council, previously ran the successful campaign for then-School Board candidate (now Board incumbent) Jon Meyer, and earlier this year ran the campaign of challenger Karen Thomas Hilburn (who was unable to push Meyer into a runoff). Regarding the mailing:

"I think it smells," Ms. Kittinger said. "They're obviously prepping potential voters with this piece."

We noted that the mailing doesn't specifically mention the election or a ballot measure and [anticipating a possible argument] the District might contend the content is informational, not political. "It's still obvious. It reeks of politics," she replied.

LBReport.com phoned the CA Fair Political Practices Commission on the matter today (Mon. July 21) to ask if they view the mailer as problematic or merely pushing the envelope; no reply yet at midafternoon.

We'll update this piece with further as received. Click reload or refresh on your browser for updated text.