BONDS for modernization and repair of schools in the GGUSD were approved at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Education.

By Jim Tortolano

Modernization 2.0 for schools in the Garden Grove Unified School District got the final green light Tuesday night as the Board of Education approved the issuance of up to $90 million in bonds.

Four board members voted in favor, but Dina Nguyen abstained, saying “I haven’t been privy to the BOC [Bond Oversight Committee] reports” for the previous bond issue approved by voters in 2010. “I’m not against it,” she said after the meeting. “I just didn’t have the information.”

Tuesday’s action put into play $311 million in general obligation bonds for repair and upgrading of schools in the district, which serves most of Garden Grove and parts of Westminster and several other cities.

Most of the schools in the district were built in the aftermath of the Baby Boom and rapid population growth in the Fifties and Sixties in Orange County. When first constructed, those schools were not built with air conditioning or handicapped access.

The first bond issue, Measure A, brought in nearly $500 million to make major upgrades in district schools, with work still going on. The bonds from Measure P, approved by voters in November 2016, will be issued in four series. The funds will go toward completing the work begun with the Measure A revenues.

The next meetings for the board will be on Feb. 21 and March 7.