Overcrowded and Overdrawn

If polling numbers hold, the district‘s gamble may pay off. Parent Amelia Jones, for one, is prepared to give her reluctant blessing. ”I have a kid in the system right now,“ said the art-history professor. ”I don’t feel I can vote against it -- for the kids‘ sake. I will vote for it because some small part of it might trickle down to help the kids in school.“

(Dennis Dockstader contributed research and analysis to this article. Other assistance was provided by Nicole Auckerman and Joshua Wachtel.)