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

Many buy homes for the
schools; vote for O and L

We need to support our kids and schools by voting yes on measures O and L. Our schools are not in financial need due to careless spending. Rather, the state budget crisis has created this huge financial problem for our schools.

The funding for our local schools is among the lowest levels in the state. Yet we have some of the best schools in the state.

Many of us bought homes in this area because of the high quality schools. Should measures O and L fail, our quality schools and students will be negatively impacted in severe way.

The success of our kids, who are our future, is contingent upon maintaining the quality of our schools. We all need to step up to the plate and support these measures. The success of our kids, schools, and communities is at risk and in our hands.

I urge you to vote yes on measures O and L.

Karen Doris-Hampton

Sunnyvale

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

Destiny of Sunnyvale
schools is in our hands

Our schools in Sunnyvale are 40 to 60 years old. Over the years we have done routine repairs such as painting to maintain buildings and made our schools safer and healthier by renovating bathrooms and completing seismic repairs. We have carefully looked at our facility needs, setting districtwide standards for all facilities, and developed a master plan to guide our future. Still, we have $120 million of identified needs such as fixing 40-year-old water, sewer and gas lines, replacing old heating and cooling systems, and expanding overcrowded schools, as well as other essential school repairs. The money from the state has not met our needs.

It is time to meet our current need for replacing these aging gas and sewer lines.

With skyrocketing energy costs, now is the time to make our schools energy efficient and save money on our utilities. Now is the time for replacing the portable classrooms we need for class-size reduction with permanent classrooms. Now is the time to look to the future and support students by expanding and improving our libraries.

In these tight budget times we cannot look to the state to meet our needs. The destiny of Sunnyvale schools is in our hands. In order to have the quality of schools we as a community expect, we must provide the solution.

The money raised from the facilities bond will stay here in Sunnyvale. By law there is oversight and accountability for the funds. I urge you to vote yes on Measure P and support our schools.

Nancy Newkirk

Sunnyvale school board member

Support education,
a good Investment

I have spent some time around the local schools lately and have been moved by some very common sights: students in bands, drama productions, athletic events, dance routines and academic contests.

Some of these events are so exceptional that I am amazed. And, contrary to what I had heard, most students are more polite and more articulate than I expect them to be. I am pleasantly surprised, again and again.

Alan Greenspan has recently been quoted as saying that our only hope is through education. He meant that without education we cannot hope to retain good paying jobs in the U.S.

Without good paying jobs in the U.S., we won't have enough taxpayers to pay for the precious programs that make our standard of living head and shoulders above other places on this earth.

We are currently at a funding juncture in Sunnyvale. We will decide on Nov. 2 whether two modest requests for facilities funding and operating budget funding is worth our while. I urge you to decide that it is both worthwhile and very important to Sunnyvale community's future prosperity.

Please vote yes on measures L and P. Vote to support our local schools.

Holly Lofgren, parent

Co-chair, Measure L

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

Quality schools make for
quality neighborhoods

As a homeowner, father, and Realtor in Sunnyvale, I strongly support our local schools and will vote yes on Measures L and P on Nov. 2.

In my conversations with clients, their most commonly expressed desire is to purchase a home in a quality school district, such as the Fremont Union High School District and Sunnyvale School District. Keeping these schools of high quality is why it is so important that we invest in our schools now by voting yes on Measures L and P.

Realtors understand that quality schools make for quality neighborhoods, which ultimately make our communities more desirable and improve our property values.

The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, a longtime supporter of our local schools through charitable contributions and scholarships for our students has strongly endorsed both Measures L and P.

Now they are urging their members to vote yes on Measures L and P. For the sake of our local schools, I urge you to do so, too.

David Hunt, Realtor

Sunnyvale

Seniors would be exempt
from these new taxes

As a longtime resident of Sunnyvale, a senior, a retired Sunnyvale School District teacher who substitutes here in Sunnyvale, I'd like to urge voters to support education locally by voting yes for measures L and P.

Senior citizens are eligible for an exemption on the Measure L tax. An independent citizens committee will make sure the funds are properly spent, and the measure will only be in effect for six years.

Without Measure L, the high school district will be forced to make further budget cuts that will cripple academic classes.

Measure P will fund the next phase of school repairs in the Sunnyvale School District. An independent citizens oversight committee will ensure all funds are spent responsibly. The cost is deductible on your state and federal income taxes.

We all agree that educating our young people is important for our community and nation. To accomplish this, we have to fund these important measures. I'm proud to be supporting our schools and hope you will do the same.

Jan Camp

Sunnyvale

High school district needs
measures L, O, P to pass

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