No break for voters--election on April 9
Parcel tax the only item facing voters on ballot
By Rebecca Ray
Families in the Los Gatos Union School District will pack swimsuits, board airplanes and head for sunny beaches for spring break this year. They will also vote on whether to renew the district's parcel tax.
On April 9, residents will go to the polls to vote on whether to pay $290 per parcel to fund low class sizes, academic programs, student support services and maintenance of classrooms and facilities. If Measure B passes, residents will pay $290 per parcel each year for the next six years.
The district is calling for an increase from $250 per parcel, which voters passed in 1998, because the amount is no longer sufficient to pay for certain programs and services, Superintendent Mary Ann Park said.
The parcel tax is different from the $91 million Measure B that voters passed in June 2001. The other Measure B, which is a general obligation bond, is funding construction and renovation projects at all five district schools.
The parcel tax has paid for low class sizes, academic programs, student support services and maintenance--which the state doesn't fund and doesn't require--since voters originally passed the parcel tax in 1990. With the parcel tax money, the district has retained the average class size in grades four through eight at 26 students, instead of more than 30 students. The state only funds reduced class sizes in grades K-3.
Besides 16 classroom teachers, the parcel tax is also funding, in part or in whole, 34 other employment positions. These positions include the district science resource teacher, school nurses, health clerks, psychologists, secretaries, library personnel, custodians and one maintenance worker, as well as counselors at all five schools.
In addition, the parcel tax has paid for music instruction for all students, literary resource teachers for grades K-5 at each elementary school and the Art Docents, a predominantly volunteer group that runs art workshops and provides art resources for teachers and students.
If voters pass the parcel tax, the district will receive $2.5 million each year.
Suzanne Kleinschmidt, a district resident, says that her biggest objection to the parcel tax election is the timing, which she calls "underhanded." She points out how the district chose to have the election over spring break, when, she says, many residents will be on vacation and won't be around to vote the parcel tax down. The only people who will stick around to vote on it, she says, are the ones who support it.
"It's like a sneak through the back door," Kleinschmidt says. "[The district] can actually pick our pockets, and we can't do anything about it."
However, Park says that spring break was not a factor in the district's choice of the election date. The election will be during a vacation for the school district, not the wider community, she says, and will not be during a normally recognized time for vacation. In fact, Park says, district parents are the ones who will be at a disadvantage, because if they go away on vacation, the only way they can vote is by absentee ballot.
Park adds that every registered voter received a sample ballot, and that the district and the registrar of voters were "not in any way trying to keep information from the voters."
Kleinschmidt also says she doesn't see the advantages of small class sizes. She says the district should hire more experienced teachers who can effectively teach 35 students, instead of merely spending money on more instructors.
Park, however, says that with small class sizes, teachers have a better idea of students' individual needs. Also, she says, teachers can pay more attention to each student.
Jan Olsen, a district parent and member of the Art Docents, offers another reason for supporting the parcel tax. She says the parcel tax money goes toward maintaining the quality of school programs, which raises the values of homes in the district.
If voters pass the parcel tax, residents who are at least 65 years old and whose properties are extensively damaged by a natural disaster can contact the district office and apply for exemptions. Residents who own multiple, contiguous properties that are considered one unit can apply at the district office to be levied only once.
Approval of the parcel tax will require a two-thirds majority vote.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
