Whenever schools run out of money, the mantra is solemn: "Do it for the children."

California has increased its per-pupil spending from 1997 to 2002 by 27.5 percent (Rockefeller Institute of Government study). But when you look at school improvement in reading scores for the fourth and eighth grades, the study found no relation between state expenditures and improved performance.

California actually flat-lined. So something is very wrong with the curriculum or teaching methods. California ranks so low among the other states that students "going East" for college are usually shocked by the greater knowledge of the students they encounter.

So who is going to pay for this parcel tax? In Santa Clara County, 92 percent of the parcels are residential properties. This parcel tax will fall on the backs of the homeowners.

It is a fixed amount, meaning that a homeowner living in a modest home can pay the same parcel-tax amount as someone who lives in an expensive mansion.

If parcel-tax measures on both the ballots for the Cupertino School District and Fremont Union High School District pass, many of us will have two parcel taxes added to our property taxes.

I think the school board should look for solutions other than increasing our taxes.

A creative approach to learning is necessary for teachers and students. There are classes at our local community colleges, summer classes and home computer programs to practice subjects and SAT tests.

By the way, why do we see high school students leaving school at 2 p.m. in the afternoon? A survey of what students would place high on their wish list for the high school district was on their website: "less stress and no homework on weekends." That is real cerebral thinking.

Financially, the school district has to function the same way that a family does. Strict adherence to a budget—we need to cut out some classes or extracurricular activities or programs.

Let us also remember that Silicon Valley has lost about 200,000 jobs. Families come here for the jobs, not the schools. So people who can't find work here have left and tax revenues have gone down. Is this the right time to put these taxes on the rest of us and for six years?

Micki Falk

Sunnyvale