California voters will not see a school-bond question on the November ballot.
That outcome became clear last week when Gov. Pete Wilson refused to respond to a last-minute plea by William D. Dawson, the state’s acting superintendent of public instruction, to reconvene the state legislature in an effort to revive the issue.
The state’s voters earlier this year voted down a bond-measure request, and a move by lawmakers to put the issue on the general-election ballot fell three votes short. Mr. Dawson implored the Governor, however, to give the issue one more chance.
“California’s children cannot wait another 21 months to June 1996 for school-construction funding,” Mr. Dawson wrote.
All signs suggested, however, that a special session to address the matter would be useless, a spokesman for Mr. Wilson said, adding that the state’s voters had already voiced their opinion.
Bus Subsidy Voided
The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that county officials cannot subsidize bus service for private school children, as Jefferson County officials have done in recent years.
The ruling strikes a financial blow to Catholic schools in the Louisville area, which had relied on the county aid to fund a large chunk of their transportation budget.
County officials said they may try to seek a way to reinstate the funding in a manner that the court would find acceptable, perhaps by routing the money through the public school district.
While other Kentucky counties help support private school transportation, Jefferson County was the only one making direct payments to schools. In fiscal 1993, the county paid $468,256 to private school groups that sought the subsidy.
The court, which decided the case by a 4-to-3 margin, said that the state constitution includes a strict restriction on appropriating public money to aid religious schools.
