October 28, 2004

Measure M

High school parcel tax meant to maintain classes, improve safety

By Carol Rosen
Editor

The ballot for the Nov. 2 election is exceptionally large and offers voters throughout the San Jose/Santa Clara County area a number of choices for office holders and schools. One race that proponents fear might get lost among the shuffle is Measure M.

The measure is a parcel tax of $85 per year or just about $7 per month ensuring that students at Boynton, Branham, Del Mar, Leigh, Prospect and Westmont high schools do not lose classes or suffer increased class sizes.

Monies collected by Measure M will be used to restore and protect academic programs, protect and improve campus safety, reduce class size and retain highly qualified teachers, according to a CUHSD Web site.
Need two-thirds

And the race is heating up. Despite little active campaigning against the measure, proponents worry the parcel tax will receive a significant majority of votes but fall short of the two-thirds margin necessary to pass. Last March, the Union District missed passage of a $195 parcel tax by about 200 votes or two percentage points.

So they are working hard at phone banks, canvassing and placing yard signs to help boost the voting. Campaign coordinator Gail Long told the Times that “momentum and excitement are building. Our phone banks were filled to overflowing this week,” according to Sunshine Williams, phone manager. “We have a lot of parent and student support. It is such great experience for students to call and actually see democracy in action,” Long said.

She added that the response from voters has been “overwhelmingly positive.” The group is distributing 1000 Yes on M buttons. Six hundred yard signs went up the first weekend in October and supporters eventually will place 1,500 signs.

Looking toward the future
Incidentally, the sign coordinator is a young man named Steve Smith. He and wife Susan live in a CUHSD neighborhood and are the parents of a 3-year-old. “We live in the district and plan to be here for a long time. I’ve worked on [a state senate c and a Sunnyvale city council] campaigns in the past. The consultants helping the district called and asked me to help out and I agreed to help with the signs,” Smith said.

The former paralegal is currently student teaching social studies at Lincoln High School. He enjoys working with youth and high school groups. He’s worked with them in the past at church groups and through youth theatrical groups.

And he’s having fun. He handed out a large number of signs on Oct. 2, at least half the trailer, said Susan.
“My job is coordinating the signs to all our schools and feeder schools,” Smith said. “I hand them out to school groups [who place them] and to people who want them. Today (Oct. 2) and tomorrow, I’ll be handing them out here, although some people are picking them up and delivering them. If anyone is interested in getting a sign, they can e-mail me with their phone number or address at smithsp@yahoo.com, and I’ll get in touch with them and deliver the signs to them.

“It’s a crowded ballot and it’s important to be aware of Measure M,” he said.

“Everyone in the district feels good [about how the campaign is going],” added Long. “But getting people out to vote on a crowded ballot is key to getting 66.6 percent of the vote and passing Measure M. So we are continuing to work hard,” she said.

Goal
Measure M’s goal is “to restore funds cut by state government with local funds that can’t be taken by the state [to] reduce class size, retain qualified teachers, restore/expand offerings in science, mathematics, English, Advanced Placement, music, foreign language and other classes and improve academics and safety,” at the district’s six high schools. The tax, which is only for the Campbell High School District, is set to expire after five years.

Even with the state budget shortfall over the past couple of years, the district up until recently managed to make cuts that would not affect teachers and students. Administrators and teachers acknowledge unless this parcel tax is passed, the cuts will have to come from academics. A picture of what might happen occurred this spring when the district announced that they would have to cut seventh period classes from all the high schools in the fall.

That led a group of parents and students to spend six weeks raising the $200,000 necessary to keep the arts and advanced placement classes available throughout the district. The goal was reached in six weeks through help of Superintendent Rhonda Farber who connected the grass roots group with a donor who gave and matched funds collected through dinners, car washes, rummage sales and other fund raising ventures.

Anti-Measure M
Anti Meausre M proponents say that California student spending is up this year, citing figures from the governor’s 2004-05 budget summary that government spending on K-12 education continues to grow. The extra money will go to pay salaries for district employees, according to a statement made by a group against Measure M on smartvoter.org.

In addition, the anti-Measure M faction says that this is not the first time in its 104-year history that the district has turned to its residents for money. In 1999, voters passed a $95 million bond measure. The group also claims “the public education propaganda machine has done a great job pleading poverty while raking in more of your money each year. Don’t be taken in by this con job…This tax increase isn’t ‘for the kids’ it’s for the employees of the district.”

Conversely, Measure M proponents, including Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, County Supervisor Jim Beall, former San Jose Mayor and state board of education member Susan Hammer, CUHSD teacher of the year (2003-04) Tara Sheedy and George Miskulin, board member of the Congress of California Seniors, claim that opponents to Measure M are “uninformed.”

“The high cost of living in our area and shrinking school budgets make it difficult for CUHSD to maintain competitive teacher salaries with surrounding districts. Passage of Measure M is important for recruiting and retaining quality, experienced teachers,” the group said in a rebuttal to the anti-Measure M faction.

The proponents also note that an argument that Prop 98 will protect local school funding is wrong. Citing an article from the July 1 San Jose Mercury News, “The Governor’s plan suspends Proposition 98…and would increase that debt [in education] to $5.2 billion.”

These five civic leaders also state that “Measure M is the only way to raise funds that are guaranteed to stay in the Campbell Union High School District and no Measure M funds can be taken by the state or used for administrative salaries. Naysayers will try to confuse the issue by discussing state funding, but Measure M is entirely about and for our local schools and community property values.”

In addition, the rebuttal notes that senior citizens, aged 65 and older are exempt. “When we speak with them, senior citizens really like that they can vote YES and opt out if they like. Both the district Web site at www.cuhsd.org and the campaign Web site at www.yesonm.org have forms and information for seniors. Just by being 65 they can opt out,” said Long.

She adds that all of the money collected from the parcel tax will be used “to improve education in local high school classrooms and not for administrative salaries.” It expires after five years and can’t be renewed without voter approval.

Those interested in finding out more about the proposal or who would like to help out by volunteering or putting up a yard sign can call the campaign phone number at (408) 395-5352. For more campaign information, go to www.yesonm.org.