Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Janice Adams made her case before the City Council Tuesday for support of Measure S, the local $50 million general obligation bond issue that voters will decide during the statewide primary election June 3.

The school district has at least one building that dates to the 1930s, and its newest school, Matthew Turner Elementary, is 21 years old, she told the Council.

While Benicia schools are ranked first in Solano County according to 2012 Academic Performance Index results, and teach about 5,000 pupils enrolled in kindergarten through high school, the aging buildings are taking their toll, Adams said.

In fact, she referred to illustrations of some of the out-of date air conditioning, lights and plumbing as “the antiques road show.”

She said the schools have outdated wiring, aging portable buildings and so many leaky roofs that she worries during rainstorms. It’s one of the few benefits of the state drought, she observed wryly.

But some of the changes the district would make would make school buildings both water and energy efficient, Adams said.

Modernized restrooms wouldn’t need as much water to operate, and Benicia High School’s playing field would be covered in artificial turf. New windows would help schools conserve energy, she said.

Safety matters also need to be addressed, Adams said.

Those range from fire alarm and security systems to securing schools with a single entrance to protect schools from outsiders, although Adams said other gates that open out would allow pupils to exit schools safely in case of fires. Cracked sidewalks and asphalt also need repairing for safety reasons, she said.

The schools as learning centers also need to be upgraded so they serve the new way students are taught, Adams said.

“We need a new language lab,” she said. But a language lab no longer is 30 desks and a teacher in front. Now they involve computers, allowing students to hear how native speakers use the language, she said. Science labs need similar upgrades, and libraries need to be converted into media centers, she said.

Multipurpose and performing arts rooms need renovating, as do the schools’ athletic areas, she said. “We can’t do track meets at Benicia High School,” she said. “It’s too old.” Students can practice there, but competitions are staged elsewhere, she said.

Adams said the $50 million would be broken down into four areas, with $24,596,766 earmarked for technological and other upgrades — computers and other modern technology, modern science and core subject classrooms, replacing or refurbishing aging portable buildings, flooring and carpets, and new coats of paint throughout the district.

The $13,215,761 earmarked for safety and security would be spent on fire alarms; campus security measures; additional exterior lighting; creation of safe routes to school, better clocks, bells, intercoms and telephones; a rebuilt track and field area and tennis courts; new bleachers; and repaired or replaced concrete and asphalt, she said.

Another $5,379,159 would be spent on infrastructure improvements. Leaky roofs would be repaired or replaced; aging plumbing, air conditioning, heating and ventilation would be modernized; more energy and water efficient measures would be taken as improvements are made; and old furniture, equipment and vehicles would be replaced.

Adams said student support facilities would get $6,419,573 for additional expenditures at the Benicia High School library; multipurpose room refurbishing; new or upgraded athletic areas, including restrooms and lockers; tennis court repairs; new shade structures; additional lockers; athletic field turf; and replacement playground equipment.

The total planned expenses come to $49,611,259, which has been rounded up to an even $50 million for the ballot measure, she said.

Adams said if the measure passes, property owners would be taxed another $39 for every $100,000 of the property’s taxable value.

She reminded the Council that quality schools increases local property values, and make a city a desirable place to live and work.

In addition, the work that would be underwritten by the bond issue would need to be done by local workers, providing jobs in Benicia.

Once energy and water efficient changes are in place, the school district would spend less money on utilities and more on education, Adams said.

She assured the Council that the money raised by the bond issue would remain in Benicia. “They can’t be taken by the state.” Expenditures would be reviewed each year by an independent citizens oversight committee, she said.

The district’s chief business officer, Tim Rahill, told the panel that the last time the city invested in its schools was the early 1990s, during construction of the Southampton homes.

“I know it’s tough to ask the community to vote for something that means less money for them,” Councilmember Mark Hughes said. Ultimately, he said, better schools add value to the city.

“I hope the citizens see the value in this,” Councilmember Christina Strawbridge said.

“I’m endorsing it,” Vice Mayor Tom Campbell said. “I think it’s a really good issue.”

While Councilmember Alan Schwartzman asked Rahill and Adams about past school expenditures and security matters, he assured them he, too, supports the measure.

“Of course I support it,” Mayor Elizabeth Patterson added.

Benicia voters will see the bond issue, Measure S, on their June 3 primary election ballot.