SAN DIEGO: The San Diego school board postponed a vote on a $2.1 billion bond measure to upgrade and repair schools yesterday, saying the proposal needs fine-tuning and additional review.

After discussing the issue for about three hours, trustees decided to continue their meeting tomorrow morning.

Board members expressed support for the bond and agreed it was needed, but some said lingering questions persisted about everything from the extent of hazardous material removal that would be covered in the measure to the rationale behind proposed school closures and reconfigurations.

The initiative would succeed Proposition MM, the $1.2 billion bond voters approved in 1998. The money would establish new technology in schools and provide renovations, such as air conditioning, kitchen upgrades and repairs to facilities.

City Heights attorney John Stump criticized the initiative as rushed and full of “secretive proposals,” including one to close Central Elementary School and combine it with Wilson Middle School as a kindergarten through eighth-grade campus. He said the district is scrambling to place a bond on the ballot before Proposition MM sunsets and property owners see their assessments drop.

Any changes to school configurations would require a public hearing and vote of the board, officials said. –M.M.