Notwithstanding the fact we seniors would be exempt from parcel tax measures L and O to fund local schools, I strongly oppose both measures. During the recent economic boom, school administrators totally ignored strong evidence of fraudulent residence claims, such that we taxpayers unwittingly absorbed the costs of educating a significant number of students from outside our school districts.

Although there are reports of some recent student dismissals, I'm not aware of any prosecutions for fraud and reclamation of funds. With that administrative laxity, tough times every few years may be highly beneficial for taxpayers. We taxpayers previously approved significant tax measures for our schools—now it's time for the schools to reduce their costs. If we continue to tax ourselves to the hilt, the state deliberately will recognize our diminished state-funding needs and distribute less and less to our districts.

Further, the passage of state constitutional Measure IA may provide the city, local college and schools with unexpected windfalls but certainly will prevent continued state looting of local funding support.

Finally, approval by the voters or the city council of the proposed CCC initiatives likely will be devastating to our city. The anti-business requirements of these initiatives are certain to stymie new business development and depress significantly the values of retail and commercial properties, while concomitantly diminishing their contributions of property and sales taxes to our local economy. While CCC does provide a means for voter approval of specific proposals, the cost of a special election is prohibitive and only exercisable by fools whose business likely would fail anyway.

Accordingly, I encourage my friends, council members and enemies to vote no on O and L, yes on 1A, no on 65 and no, no, no on CCC.

Gordon Frolich

Local league urges a yes
on measures L, O and P

The League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale supports measures L, O, and P, school parcel taxes and bond measure. The League believes that adequate financing is an essential component of a program of quality education. State budget cuts threaten the continued sustenance of the quality of education in these districts.

Passage of the high school parcel tax will help preserve core academic classes, maintain qualified and experienced teachers and school employees and continue programs that help students qualify for college. It will stabilize funding for six years and help ensure that the quality of our schools is maintained.

Passage of the elementary school parcel tax will help retain and attract quality teachers and staff, maintain small class sizes and education programs including music and art, and fund programs that enhance student achievement.

The Sunnyvale District needs to replace old gas, water, and sewer lines. The passage of Bond Measure P can make this possible, along with replacing portable classrooms with permanent units and expanding to alleviate overcrowding. Sunnyvale's schools must have a safe learning environment so that the district's children may continue to thrive.

In evaluating budget and funding issues for schools, the League judges efforts by the school board to achieve quality education, to develop community participation and administrative effectiveness, and to maintain responsiveness to the community. These school districts meet our criteria and justify our support of the tax measures and bond measure.

The League urges a yes vote for measures L, O and P.

Roberta Hollimon, president

League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale

O, L and P keep schools
and property values high

I support measures O, L, and P on the November ballot. Measure O supports schools in Cupertino Union School District, Measure L supports our high school district and measure P supports elementary schools in Sunnyvale.

Not only are these needed to maintain the excellence in our local public school system, but they make sense financially for homeowners in our districts.

The value of our homes is directly attributable to our great schools. People want to live here because they know that going to one of our schools will make a substantial difference in the choices kids have to attend the college of their choice, or have the career of their choice. And because people want to live here, your home value is high.

There is no doubt that more funding for our local schools will help maintain your property values.

As taxes go, these local measures are better than most. Why? Because you get to choose how the money is spent. Most of the other money you give to the government is controlled by Sacramento. In this case, you get to make the call.

Vote yes on O, L, and P to keep our local schools great and maintain your property values.

Richard Lowenthal

President, Fremont Union High Schools Foundation

High school district needs measures L, O, P

Our local school boards have placed measures L, O and P on the Nov. 2 ballot because state cuts in education and a severe decline in local commercial property taxes has reduced educational funding at all of our local schools.

As a member of the Fremont Union High School District Board, I have seen the effects firsthand.

Our district has been forced to cut $8 million in just two years. In those same two years, our enrollment has increased by over 400 students, resulting in a drop of at least $500 per student funding.

Many important academic programs have already been cut and all school employees just lost 4.9 percent in salaries and benefits. Cuts like this impact our ability to attract and retain teachers and provide the high quality education for which our district is known.

The success of measures L, O and P will preserve the integrity of our instructional program and provide a quality education to our students and all other children in our community. We thank you for your support.

Nancy A. Newton

President, board of trustees

Fremont Union High School District

Students need measures
L, O and P to pass

Students lost some very important classes due to the budget cuts in the Fremont Union High School District, including advanced placement statistics and yearbook, plus their opportunities to take math and science courses that are important to college entrance are now limited.

Students need a wide variety of classes at our high schools to be competitive in their college and career choices. Similar cuts are being made in all of our local schools. I am worried about the overall quality of education in our schools and what will be cut next if we don't pass measures L, O and P.

Voting yes on measures L, O and P will benefit all students who attend Cupertino High, Fremont High, Homestead High, Lynbrook High, Monta Vista High and elementary and middle schools in our community.

Ameya S. Ananth

Student member, board of trustees

Lynbrook High School senior

Fremont Union High School District

L, O and P may restore
4.9 percent cut in pay

As a former principal and current member of the board of trustees in the Fremont Union High School District, it was very hurtful to go through the process these last two years of cutting valuable experiences for our students.

It was also extremely difficult to cut back on support services so valued in our schools. Our district thanks this community for supporting our bond measure in 1998 to renovate and modernize our five high schools and for understanding that this money could only be spent on facilities. We now need the community's support to help maintain the quality of education in our schools and halt further cuts to our instructional program and to preserve the salaries of our teachers and support staff. The unprecedented 4.9 percent cut in pay to all district staff cannot continue.

Our board of trustees is supporting all local measures for education—measures L, O and P.

Combined, these important measures will benefit all local students and provide a quality education kindergarten through high school graduation. I am proud to work together with our feeder districts for the benefit of all students in our communities.

Barbara F. Nunes

Board of trustees

Fremont Union High School District

Quality education is
essential to society

I will vote yes on measures L, O, and P because good schools are vital to our communities. A quality public education is essential to creating a society in which everyone has a chance to achieve. Our children and grandchildren deserve no less.

Funding from the state has been cut, and our districts had to make difficult choices even before those cuts. How can we expect to attract and retain good teachers if we are unable to pay equitably? How can we expect kids to do homework if there aren't enough textbooks to take home? How can we expect our high schools to prepare kids for college if they aren't able to offer college prep classes?

Funds raised by the local parcel taxes will stay in our community, to benefit our kids and our neighbors' kids. Seniors can opt out of taxes. At less than $0.27 a day, this is an important investment in our future.

Maggie Evart

Sunnyvale

1A restricts state from
raiding local funding

For more than a dozen years, the state Legislature has been taking local tax dollars that local governments use to provide vital services such as public safety, healthcare, libraries and parks. The state has taken more than $40 million from cities, counties and special districts in the past 12 years. In Cupertino more than $4.5 million was taken in the past two years. In fiscal 2004­2005, as the result of the loss of these local revenues, Cupertino has to reduce subsidies of programs such as school resources officers, DARE Officers, cultural events, Shakespeare in the Park and teen center hours. To balance the budget, the city has increased user fees, dipped into reserves, imposed hiring freezes, cut programs, and deferred maintenance and capital programs in order to maintain service levels. If this raid of city funds by the state continues, it could mean fewer firefighters, fewer law enforcement officers, fewer library hours, less funding for schools, a new 911 fee or higher local taxes and fees.

Proposition 1A, known as "Protection of Local Government Revenues," is a historical bipartisan agreement. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, local governments, legislators, public safety officials and community leaders are urging voters to support Proposition 1A. This proposition allows the state to borrow local government revenues if funds are needed in a fiscal emergency to support schools or other state programs; it prevents the state Legislature from taking and using local government funds such as the vehicle license fee revenues, sales taxes and property taxes and helps to safeguard essential services. Proposition 1A restricts the state Legislature's ability to raid local government funding, provides flexibility in a state budget emergency but does not raise taxes.

Cupertino, like many other cities, has adopted a resolution to support Proposition 1A. I believe that local tax dollars should stay in our communities to pay for local services to meet the needs of our community. Please vote yes on Proposition 1A Nov. 2.

Patrick Kwok

Vice mayor, city of Cupertino

Local schools among
the best in the state

Strong schools build strong communities, and our local school districts are among the best in the state. The outstanding education we provide our children is a springboard for achievement later in life. Education today builds leaders for tomorrow.

As a member of the Cupertino Union School District Board of Trustees, I have seen firsthand how the ongoing state budget crisis has financially challenged our schools and has threatened our ability to sustain the many quality educational programs that benefit our students.

You can help. Measures O, L, and P bring local dollars to our local schools. They help us preserve core academic classes and programs, maintain academic support specialists who help students struggling with the basics, sustain music and art programs, attract and retain outstanding teachers and staff, and maintain manageable class sizes.

Local school boards have placed measures O, L, and P on the November ballot. Each of these measures preserves the quality of our schools. All money will be spent in our community. None will be spent on administration.

Make a difference in your community. Vote yes on Nov. 2.

Josephine Lucey

CUSD Board of Education

Without accountability
O should not pass

The two funding measures for education on the upcoming ballot, O and L, are unconnected to each other. Measure L is for the high schools (Fremont Union High School District) and is essential to maintain current programs due to the way the state funds the district. Measure O is for the elementary and middle schools (Cupertino Union School District), which are funded differently. CUSD has already passed two measures affecting your property tax bill: Measure A (passed in 1995) and the more recent Measure C (passed in 2001). These are both bond measures.

Check your property tax bill under elementary school bonds to find out how much tax you currently pay to CUSD. Now CUSD is after the taxpayers for a third measure, in the form of a parcel tax.

Although Measure O contains wording that prohibits spending any funds on administrator salaries, it would be easy to work around this self-imposed restriction by diverting existing sources of funding. District administration has complete control over how general funds are used, including administrator salary increases or even newly created assistant administrator positions.

CUSD teacher and staff salaries have been falling behind those of neighboring districts, contributing to a high rate of attrition among our experienced teachers and staff, but Measure O provides no assurance that the funds will be used to address this issue. In 2001, CUSD did not inform voters of its intent to use the bond Measure C money to fund a fifth middle school. Whether or not you agree with the middle school philosophy is beside the point. The bigger issue is that voters did not get the information at the time to make an informed decision, and the trust was broken.

Does CUSD have plans for Measure O that voters may not currently know about? Would parcel tax revenue help pay for the operating expenses of the fifth middle school, disguised under the heading "maintaining essential educational programs"?

Until there is greater disclosure and accountability in terms of exactly how the parcel tax funds would be used, we should not vote in favor of Measure O for CUSD.

Melissa Hilton

Cupertino

Value residents place on
education sets us apart

Over the past 20 years, I have helped hundreds of people realize the value in their homes and at the same time I've helped many families move to this area. If there is one thing that sets our community apart from others, it is the value that residents place on education. This focus keeps our community strong—families move here because of our great neighborhood schools!

In an era of cutbacks for education, measures O and L will protect our schools, our community and our property values by preserving the strong academic programs we have come to expect and by helping children that may struggle in a challenging educational environment.

Measures O and L are endorsed by the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and many other business and civic organizations. I urge you to join me in voting YES on measures O and L on Nov. 2.

Mark Burns

Realtor