RIPON – Ripon voters appeared supportive of Measure G based on some early numbers of Tuesday’s general election.

A super majority or 55 percent approval was necessary to pass the $25.2 million bond measure.

Supporters met at the home of Ripon Unified board president Mike Fisher on South Austin Road. Included were retired superintendent and Ripon City Council hopeful Leo Zuber along with Joe O’Leary, who is also a former superintendent.

As of midnight, the tally was 3,092 to 2,374 – or 56.57 percent – in favor of Measure G, which, if those numbers continue to hold up, would help pave the way for officials at Ripon Unified to focus their attention towards replacing outdated portable facilities with permanent ones at Colony Oak and Weston elementary schools. There are mail-in ballots that still have to be counted.

Measure G will also allow for the district to finish paying off the Clinton South parcel home to the Ripon High school farm not to mention the site for a future high school campus.

The plan would call for borrowing funds at a lower rate in order to pay off the remaining debt on the land purchase, in turn, saving taxpayers $6 million. This could allow the district to use the savings towards retaining qualifying teachers while protecting the quality of classroom instruction.

The aging portables at the two RUSD school sites had shown plenty of wear from over the years. Included are warped plywood floors, inadequate electrical outlets, mold issues, and water-damaged ceiling panels, to name a few.

The library at Colony Oak – essentially two converted classrooms – was dubbed “the book mobile” based on its tight quarters that made it tough to accommodate more than one classroom at a time.

As for cost of the bonds, an owner of a $250,000 home, for example, would pay $20.63 per year or $8.25 per $100,000 of the assessed valuation.

The complete election results can be found at www.sjcrov.org.