Committee for Responsible School Expansion v. Hermosa Beach City School District

Plaintiff and appellant the Committee for Responsible School Expansion appeals from a judgment entered following the denial of its petition for writ of mandate seeking to enjoin defendant and respondent the Hermosa Beach City School District (the School District) from expending school bond money to construct a gymnasium. Appellant contends that the California Constitution prohibits the expenditure because constmction of a “gymnasium” was not among the “list of the specific school facilities projects to be funded” in the bond ballot measure approved by the voters. (See Cal. Const., art. XIII A, § 1, subd. (b)(3)(B).)

We find no merit to this contention. The School District satisfied the Constitution’s accountability requirements by preparing and making available the required list of projects, which included a gymnasium. Neither the state Constitution nor the Education Code requires that the list of specific school facilities projects to be funded through a bond measure be included on the ballot. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On My 24, 2002, the School District Board of Trustees approved a resolution ordering an election on the…