SAN PABLO, Calif. (KRON) — After years of California voters supporting education measures on the ballot, it looks like the multi-billion dollar school bond measure, state Proposition 13, could go down to defeat.

But millions of votes have yet to be counted and supporters are remaining optimistic.

Electrical wires hang from the ceiling at Lake Elementary School in San Pablo.

The school’s furnace is also wrapped in asbestos insulation and taped up with duct tape.

“Many of our schools, our K-12 schools, are 40, 50, 60 years old and haven’t had any restoration done on them,” State Senator Steven Glazer said.

Which is why Glazer said he co-authored Proposition 13, a 15-billion dollar bond measure to restore and rebuild schools and universities.

“Everything from remediation of lead seismic safety issues a whole host of health and safety concerns as well as new classrooms and labs,” Glazer said.

Some opponents, though, say that while they believe money should go to schools, the state’s education system has enough.

“Californians have finally rejected throwing just blank checks at the education system in California as we’ve been doing for the last decade unsuccessfully,” Matt Shupe, chairman of the Contra Costa County Republican party, said. “I mean Californian voters have passed a lot of new taxes and bonds to fund our education system with actually decreasing results.”

As of Wednesday, the votes just aren’t there for Proposition 13 to pass — which shocks supporters, like Antioch school board member Ellie Householder

“The voters tend to support anything that has to do with kids and our schools, but I think that every year the voters have been asked to continue to fund public education and haven’t seen very many strives in terms of student achievement,” Householder said. “So I think the voters are just a little hesitant to continue giving what they view Sacramento more money.”

But millions of votes have yet to be counted, and supporters say they are remaining hopeful.

“I think we are still cautiously optimistic we will prevail,” Glazer said.

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