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  • Monday, November 17, 2014

     

    Final tally shows 2,513 "under votes"

    eLECTION 2014  

    K watch
    FINAL ELECTION TALLY SHOWS...
    2513 "under votes" in MEASURE K Election
    equals 5% of the vote

    The Orange County Registrar of voters released the unofficial final tabulations for Orange County elections on Monday November 17.  Of the votes cast-Measure K remained at 54.6% Yes to 45.4%  No- or approximately 190 votes short of the required 55%. The results are expected to be certified on Tuesday.

    Results posted on Monday also show that of the 105,848 registered voters in Orange Unified, 50,118 ballots (46.6%) were cast.   The unofficial final results show of those cast ballots, 47,605 (44.9%) votes for Measure K were counted.  That leaves 2,513 "under votes"- meaning 2,513 of the 50,118 ballots did not have a Measure K vote recorded.  That means just under 95% of the ballots had a vote for Measure K, but 5% of the ballots cast -had no vote for Measure K  recorded.

    With 190 votes short- the 2513 "under votes" appear to be a factor in the measure winning or losing.  The areas the under votes are from also could be a factor in the election outcome.


    Unsurprising, of all the major voting blocks, only the votes in Villa Park were a majority against Measure K.  Surprisingly, the OUSD Western communities overwhelmingly supported Measure K- Garden Grove voters supported the measure at 74%. Santa Ana voters supported the measure by at 63%. 

    Monday's results break down OUSD by voting areas. The  following information was released on Monday for the OUSD areas with the "under vote" information complied by Orange Net News. 

    Anaheim Hills
    Registered Voters: 27,303
    Votes Cast: 13,120 (48.1%)  Yes 6,632 (53%) No 5,881 (47%)
    Under votes: 607

    East Orange
    Registered Voters: 1,643
    Votes Cast: 712 (43.3%) Yes 352 (52.3%) No 320 (47.7%)
    Under votes: 40

    East Tustin
    Registered Voters: 2015
    Votes Cast: 1059 (52.6%) Yes 523( 51.8%)  No 485 (48.2%)
    Under votes: 51

    Garden Grove
    Registered Voters: 2188
    Votes Cast: 764 (34.9%) Yes 514 (74.4%) No 174 (25.6%)
    Under votes: 76

    Orange
    Registered Voters: 63,036
    Votes Cast: 29,360 (46.6%) Yes 15,520 (55.1%) No 12,598 (44.9%)
    Under votes: 1242

    Santa Ana
    Registered Voters: 4168
    Votes Cast: 1775 (41.4%) Yes 1000 (63.5%) No 574 (36.5%)
    Under votes: 201

    Silverado
    Registered Voters: 1110
    Votes Cast: 717 (64.8%) Yes 344 (53%) No 305 (47%)
    Under votes: 68

    Villa Park
    Registered Voters: 4200
    Votes Cast: 2593 (61.7%) Yes 1069 (42.4%) No 1447 (57.6%)
    Under votes: 77

    Unincorporated Areas
    Registered Voters: 4920
    Votes Cast: 2543 (51%) Yes 1251(52.4) No 1132 (47.6%)
    Under votes: 160




    MONDAY UNOFFICAL FINAL RESULTS
    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    25,992
    54.6%
    Bonds - No
    21,613
    45.4%

    C.A.R.E., the organization supporting Measure K, posted the following information on their Facebook page:  


    "MEASURE K SUPPORTERS!

    We are disappointed to report that the Orange County Registrar of voters is now down to about 50 votes remaining to be counted, which means there are not enough votes to change the outcome for Measure K. As you know, we are only 191 votes short of the 55% required to pass it. Nearly 30,000 students lost out and they deserve so much better. Although the outcome is disappointing, we have succeeded in creating a passionate and more educated group of parents and concerned citizens in our district that stepped up to actively support this effort. We thank those of you that put in the time and effort to get out the word about the need to improve our facilities.

    While the Measure K chapter of this journey is over, the push to upgrade our aging school facilities must continue. Our students and teachers deserve a better environment and, with the passage of new school bonds in Fullerton and Anaheim, our homes will continue to look less attractive to young families choosing where they’d like to purchase their homes.

    Many of you have asked “what’s next” and “what can I do to support another effort in two years?” First, and foremost, we encourage you to stay informed, make sure your voice is heard, and continue to educate friends and neighbors who aren’t watching as closely. Go to school board meetings and keep pressure on our current board. Additionally, PLEASE understand that change/movements like this require the dedication and hard work of many, many volunteers. There were simply too many people that did not come through with volunteering (or voting). Gear up to be an active member of the campaign.

    If you are disappointed in the positions and actions taken by the two OUSD school board members, Ms. Deligianni and Ms. Singer, who did not endorse the measure and sent out mailers saying “Measure K is not OK, and calling it “flawed,” then make sure they know how you feel. Sending messages, speaking at board meetings, and, ultimately, expressing your feelings in the voting booth during future elections are all constructive ways in which to make your voice heard.

    Similarly, please let other elected officials know how you feel, such as VP Councilwoman Deborah Pauly and Orange County Board of Education Member Robert Hammond, who opposed the bond and consistently spread misinformation in their attempt to scare voters. You may also choose to let the Foothills Sentry, which provided numerous guest editorials to opponents and refused to provide any similar opportunities to supporters of Measure K, know your feelings through your letters and choosing to not do business with their advertisers.

    VOTE! While we are disappointed with the behavior of some of our elected officials, very poor voter turnout was devastating. Every vote really does count! Find the time to get to your polling place or register for absentee status. Do whatever it takes but make it a priority to vote and encourage your neighbors to do the same.

    Stay optimistic. We ultimately obtained 54.6% of the vote! That is a large majority. The vast majority of our community leaders also stood behind Measure K. Take a look at our endorsers page, http://www.careforousd.org/endorsements.html, and let those leaders know that you appreciate their concern for our community and let them know that our schools are still important and you hope they will support future efforts to improve our school facilities.

    As final votes are tallied and things settle down, we will be looking at more detailed analytics from the election. It is a big process to get consensus and alignment around what comes next but some ideas are already beginning to circulate. If there is to be a new effort for 2016, however, there is plenty of groundwork that you can begin putting in place. Make sure your local school PTAs have someone in place that is attending, and reporting on, school board activities. Push the school board for community forums at which solutions are discussed and ideas are moved forward. And make a commitment to staying involved and demanding that your elected officials do the job for which you put them in office"

    Saturday, November 15, 2014

     

    Every vote continues to count...


    eLECTION 2014  

    K watch
    K election gets 360 more votes today

    MONDAY WILL BE FINAL UPDATE 
    ELECTION TO BE CERTIFIED TUESDAY


    Today 360 total votes were added to the Measure K election.  The Measure K election  percentages remained 54.6% for YES  and  45.4%  for the NO side.

    The Yes side received 209 of today's votes (58%) and the NO side received 151 of today's votes (42%). 

    As of today, Measure K YES votes are  191 votes short of 55%.

    As the number of remaining ballots left to count in all of Orange County dwindle down- eventually only damaged ballots, unscanned ballots and "orphan" ballots will remain. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has announced Monday will be the final update of votes.

    The following is an explanation from the Orange County Registrar of Voters what each of these ballots are:

    DAMAGED BALLOTS
    Damaged ballots are paper ballots where the barcode has been compromised in some way, preventing the scanning of the ballot. Examples include a tear, pen marks, foreign material (such as food stains, smudges, etc.), or a fade in the barcode itself. Each of these ballots must be duplicated onto new ballot paper by hand.
    UNSCANNED BALLOTS
    A ballot unscanned is a ballot that did not scan on the first pass. Causes for this include issues in the barcode or a misfeed on a scanner. Each of these ballots must be located among the entire batch of scanned ballots (a needle in a haystack). Once found we must attempt to scan the ballot a second time and if it still will not scan we must duplicate it by hand.
    ORPHAN BALLOTS
    An orphan ballot is a ballot that is returned without the full ballot (for example, a single page of a two page ballot). These ballots are not scanned in the early stages of the ballot scanning - we must wait to see if the voter returns the second page. Following Election Night we identify any orphan ballots and locate them among all of the ballots scanned. The orphan is then scanned into the actual tally.


    SATURDAY 11/15 POSTED VOTE TOTALS
    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    25,992
    54.6%
    Bonds - No
    21,613
    45.4%


    FRIDAY 11/14 POSTED VOTE TOTALS
    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    25,783
    54.6%
    Bonds - No
    21,462
    45.4%



    Friday, November 14, 2014

     

    K moves UP AGAIN...


     eLECTION 2014  
    K watch
    K moves up ANOTHER .1%
    now 215 votes short

    Today Measure K continues to play with the emotions of supporters as  the Measure K's vote totals  moved up another .1% after it crept up  2% points yesterday.

    Today Friday November 14th, the Orange County Registrar of voters counted only 795 more votes to add to the Measure K election  changing the percentages to 54.6% for YES  and  45.4%  for the NO side.

    The Yes side received 486 of today's votes (61.1%) and the NO side received 309 today's votes (38.9%).

    As of today's totals, Measure K is 215 votes short of the 55%.

    FRIDAY 11/14 POSTED VOTE TOTALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    25,783
    54.6%
    Bonds - No
    21,462
    45.4%
    * Indicates Incumbent Candidate, if any 


    THURSDAY 11/13 POSTED VOTE TOALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    25,297
    54.5%
    Bonds - No
    21,153
    45.5%

    Thursday, November 13, 2014

     

    K gets 66.7% of today's count

    eLECTION 2014  

    K watch
    K moves up .2% now 250 votes short

    Measure K watchers continued to be on pins and needles as Measure K's totals slowly moved up.2% points after receiving over 66% of  today's ballot count.

    On Thursday November 13th, the Orange County Registrar of Voters counted 517 more votes to add to the Measure K election  changing the percentages to 54.5% for YES  and  45.5%  for the NO side. A bond measure takes 55% to pass.

    The Yes side received 345 of today's counted votes (66.7%) and the NO side received 172 of today's votes (33.3%).

    THURSDAY 11/13 POSTED VOTE TOTALS
    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    25,297
    54.5%
    Bonds - No
    21,153
    45.5%

    WEDNESDAY 11/12 POSTED VOTE TOTALS


    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    24,952
    54.3%
    Bonds - No
    20,983
    45.7%

    Wednesday, November 12, 2014

     

    Time and votes running out for Measure K

    eLECTION 2014  

    K watch
    Time and votes appear to be running out for any long-shot of Measure K gaining the .7% votes needed to meet the 55% threshold.

    On Wednesday November 12th, the Orange County Registrar of voters counted only 179 more votes to add to the Measure K election  leaving the percentages of 54.3% to 45.7% unchanged.

    The Yes side received 94 of today's votes (52.5%) and the NO side received 85 today's votes (47.5%),


    WEDNESDAY 11/12 POSTED VOTE TOTALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    24,952
    54.3%
    Bonds - No
    20,983
    45.7%


    TUESDAY 11/11 POSTED VOTE TOTALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    24,858
    54.3%
    Bonds - No
    20,898
    45.7%

    Tuesday, November 11, 2014

     

    K watch and INSIDE OUSD



       eLECTION Watch 
    a news service of   Orange Net News /O/N/N/
    Percentages remain unchanged on Tuesday

    K watch

    With only a little over 28,700 ballots from all over Orange County left to count, Tuesday's percentages remained unchanged in the Measure K vote:  Yes 54.3%; No 45.7%.  The measure currently is about 308 votes short of the needed 55%.

    Provisional ballots left to count number 26,000, with vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at the polls numbering 2356. Just over 300 paper ballots remain to be counted.

    TUESDAY 11/10 POSTED VOTE TOTALS
    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    24,858
    54.3%
    Bonds - No
    20,898
    45.7%

     MONDAY 11/9 POSTED VOTE TOTALS
    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    24,709
    54.3%
    Bonds - No
    20,798
    45.7%

    ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
    Independent insight into OUSD      
    a news service of
     Orange Net News /O/N/N/
    After student hit-and-run tragedy and Measure K's defeat
    OUSD Board to meet on November 13th
    After an emotional two weeks for the Greater Orange Communities, the Orange Unified School Board will meet for a regular Board Meeting on Thursday November 13, 2014.

    The small agenda with routine housekeeping items  can be seen here:

    At the October 16, 2014 Orange School Board meeting, Trustees continued to argue about ethics revolving around the Measure K and possible future real estate transactions. Trustees Diane Singer and Timothy Surridge  exchanged a flurry of accusations. Singer, who had no opponent, so was not on the ballot and Surridge who was on the ballot argued over ethical and political motives in the days leading up to the election. 

    Two weeks later, Orange Unified and the Greater Orange Communities would be dealing with the enormous tragedy of three OUSD students being killed in a Halloween night hit-and-run in front of  OUSD's Fairhaven School.

    Then on November 4, after the voting, a close election created a week of slow returns with Measure K supporters and detractors watching the painfully close tabulations as the third OUSD Bond appeared to be defeated by just a few hundred votes.

    As it turned out, all of the back-and-forth arguing from the October 16 Board meeting proved to be mute with election results that saw all of the incumbents easily elected and Measure K barely defeated.   

    The third defeat for an OUSD Bond measure once again by a few hundred votes has many in Greater Orange looking for creative solutions t repair the aging schools. On November 9th Orange Net News reported that facilities improvement districts were being discussed as a possible solution to addressing critical update needs for some of OUSD schools. On November 11th, an article in The Orange County Register reported OUSD Superintendent Michael Christensen as saying :
    "he was asked after the election by some community members about school facilities improvement districts, which he said he is looking into".

    In the same article (see link below) re-elected Orange Mayor Tita Smith stated she wanted to work with the district toward getting schools updated and suggested some type of public-private partnership.

    The path forward on the split Board will not be easy. As seen on October 16th, the current OUSD Board is as deeply divided as Washington D.C. government. The Board's political and gender divide is deep-with few moderate moments.  OUSD Board President John Ortega had done a yeoman's job in guiding the OUSD Board and the facilities measure through the last year trying to tamp down the bickering, but his new found even temper also started to wear thin the last meeting he attended.

    Many community members are beginning to see a united OUSD Board as a key to dealing with the needed facilities problems. Trustee Surridge made the case at the October 16th meeting stating that conservatives are needed to make the case for facility improvements with other conservatives.  However, over the last four years as the Board majority with a lock on all the leadership roles the self-identified conservatives have not been able to unite the Board over any meaningful policy initiatives.

    At the December 11th OUSD Board Meeting both sides have another chance to get all views represented on the Board leadership for 2015 to address long term priorities.


     NEXT OUSD BOARD MEETING Thursday, November 13, 2014

    CLOSED SESSION NOTE 6:30 pm
    OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm
    For the AGENDA-
    CLICK ON: AGENDA 

    For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
    For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

    ARCHIVAL Information and direct news can be found at:
    the Greater Orange News Service http://greaterorange.blogspot.com/
    ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
    and the
    Greater Orange News Service
    are independent news services of /O/N/N/

    Orange Net News

    Monday, November 10, 2014

     

    K inches forward another .1%

       eLECTION Watch 
    a news service of   Orange Net News /O/N/N/

    K watch

    Monday totals- Yes on K up another .1%

    Monday November 10th ballot totals released by the Orange County Registrar of Voters shows 2006 more ballots counted in the OUSD Measure K election.  A total of 1146 votes went to the Yes on K (57.1% of Monday's total) and 860 votes were counted for the No side (42.9% of the new ballots). 

    The total percentages now stand at  54.3% Yes and 45.7% No. 

    Of the 45,507 votes cast in the Measure K  election, the measure is approximately 320 votes short of the 55% threshold needed to pass.

    Totals today appear to be from most of the 5700 paper ballots cast and about 5,000 of the Provisional ballots cast last Tuesday. Still outstanding are a little over 300 paper ballots and a little over 32,000 Provisional ballots.

    Despite the Veterans Day holiday tomorrow - more results are expected Tuesday.


    MONDAY 11/9 POSTED VOTE TOTALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    24,709
    54.3%
    Bonds - No
    20,798
    45.7%


    SATURDAY  11/8/14  POSTED VOTE TOTALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    23,563
    54.2%
    Bonds - No
    19,938
    45.8%



    Sunday, November 09, 2014

     

    New K totals and what might be next

    eLECTION 2014  
    K watch
    743 more votes give K percentage another +.1
    On Saturday 743 votes were added to the Measure K election from outstanding ballots still being counted  by the Orange County Registrar of Voters office. The percentages for and against the facilities bond measure with the additional votes changed- from the previous 54.1%  to the current 54.2% on 435 more Yes votes. The total No vote added was 308 dropping the No percentage to the current 45.8%.  

    School Facilities Bonds need a 55% super majority to pass. With a total of 43,501 votes cast in the Measure K election,  55%  of ballots cast would currently equal 23,926 leave the current Yes total approximately 363 votes short.

    A reported total of 54,070 ballots remain to be counted as of Saturday night.  Those appear from the Orange County Registrar of Voters to be mostly over 38,000 Provisional and almost 6,000 paper ballots which require more time to process. The next update from the Registrar's office will be Monday November 10th.

    A map from an article appearing in the Orange County Register on Sunday analyzing the turn out for last week's election clearly shows the difficult path that Measure K had to take during an off-year election. Voters in Orange Unified span several cities with different voting turn-out and priorities. The map shows Villa Park had the highest turn-out of voters, followed by the City of Orange, then Anaheim Hills and Santa Ana.

    The voting make-up of each community, and the overall turn-out continued to  affect OUSD's ability to pass a Facilities Bond Measure.   Sources close to OUSD officials report that a possible future strategy to deal with the OUSD electorate  could be carving out Facilities Improvement Districts to upgrade schools in the communities that are willing to pay for the improvements.

    In the November 2002 Presidential Election , the Rancho Santiago Community College passed Measure E with 64% of the vote.  The well managed Bond-which received numerous accolades however fell short of  finishing planned construction at its two campuses because of  unforeseen increase in construction supply costs driven by Hurricane Katrina and a building boom in China. Unable to finish more costly needs for the older Santa Ana College (SAC), the Trustee set up the Santa Ana College Facilities Improvement District surrounding SAC and in the November 2012 Presidential Election went to the voters specifically in that district  with Measure Q for improvements just to SAC. The Bond passed with a 72% approval.

    In a similar future scenario,  OUSD communities that want to pay to improve their local schools could do so- and communities that do not want to pay to improve their local schools would not be forced to do so.

    SATURDAY  11/8/14  POSTED VOTE TOTALS

    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    23,563
    54.2%
    Bonds - No
    19,938
    45.8%

    FRIDAY 11/7/14  POSTED VOTE TOTALS


    K-Orange Unified School District, Critical Upgrades and Repairs for Quality High Schools
    Completed Precincts: 164 of 164


    Vote Count
    Percentage
    Bonds - Yes
    23,128
    54.1%
    Bonds - No
    19,630
    45.9%

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