How good is good enough? Palo Alto voters will answer that question June 7 when they decide whether to increase the school district parcel tax by $200 a year.

The Palo Alto Unified School District is one of the best in California. It's also one of the wealthiest in the state, spending more than $10,000 per student per year, compared with the $6,000-$8,000 most districts spend. Its teachers are among the highest paid; its high schools offer a wide range of advanced classes. Ninety-five percent of its students go on to college.

Yet in the past three years, even Palo Alto has felt the budget pain, losing $4.4 million in annual state funds on a total budget of $112 million. To keep up with rising costs, the district has cut $6.5 million over two years in course offerings, librarians, art programs, counseling and other areas, and it has dipped into reserves.

Palo Alto's current $293 parcel tax, passed in 2001, expires next year. Last November, a proposal to replace it with an eight-year, $521 parcel tax failed -- the district's first school tax defeat in 27 years. Though the measure got more than 66 percent of the vote, it fell about 300 votes short of the two thirds it needed.

This time, the district is seeking a six-year tax of $493 per parcel, including an exemption for senior citizens. Measure A would generate $9.3 million a year -- $3.8 million more than the current tax -- to make up for lost state money.

If Measure A fails, the district is considering closing an elementary school, eliminating class-size reduction and cutting the school day from seven periods to six in middle and high schools. The cuts would be felt by students at every level.

To maintain the quality of education Palo Alto has come to expect, this new tax is needed.

Opponents of Measure A claim the district has plenty of money. Aren't Palo Alto schools good enough already? Why have small classes? Why pay teachers higher-than-average salaries? Those are frills, they say, which taxpayers can't afford.

But Palo Alto has always prized education. And neighboring districts in Los Altos and Menlo Park already have parcel taxes that are more than $493.

Last time, the tax measure failed because the community was complacent. This time, Palo Altans can't afford to take the quality of their schools for granted. On June 7, they need to get to the polls and vote yes on Measure A.

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