Measure A will provide needed funds to PA schools

Everyone loves schools, right? Usually, the answer is a resounding "yes" -- unless there's a price tag attached. Then things get a little dicier.

Palo Alto voters will face a similar question when they go to the polls on June 7. If passed, Measure A would provide $9.3 million annually to the Palo Alto School District for six years ("Measure would renew parcel tax in PA," May 5).

While Palo Alto doesn't resemble anyone's image of a needy school district, it has, like the rest of California’s schools, been affected by recent budget cuts at the state level. The district has lost a total of $4.4 million in state funds over the past three years, and while the enrollment has been increasing (594 students in the past three years), there has not been a corresponding increase in funds.

To make matters worse, property taxes -- which provide 70 percent of the district's funding -- are capped by state law, meaning that Palo Alto's schools have seen little benefit from skyrocketing housing prices.

The school district has been drawing from its limited reserves to cover current expenses. Certain extracurricular and academic programs have already been cut, and if the measure is not passed, school officials say that more cuts will follow, as will a reduction in the nummber of teachers.

Measure A would provide the money to alleviate these pressing concerns. Palo Alto passed a similar tax in 2001, which school district officials say provided a stable source of funds to support them during the recent economic downturn, but this tax expires next year.

In addition, Measure A targets the bank accounts of many of the people who benefit the most from good schools. Having quality schools with high test scores in the area isn't just a good investment, it also pays off with higher property values. So it makes sense that many of those who will reap the financial benefits -- and who may have been drawn to Palo Alto by the lure of a good education for their children -- put up the funds to protect their investment.

But what does this have to do with Stanford students? Enveloped in the oft-mentioned bubble, it's easy to ignore local elections. Who cares what’s going on in local elections, right? But Stanford, and its students, are part of a larger community. Measure I, an earlier attempt to renew the parcel tax, fell just 1 percent short of its required two-thirds vote last November. The new measure reduces the tax from $521 to $493 per parcel, but the necessary 66.7 percent of support is far from guaranteed.

Stanford students who are eligible to vote in the coming election -- especially for those of us who benefited from strong public education -- we have an obligation to support Palo Alto schools this June 7.

http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&repository=0001_article&id=17313

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Last modified: 06/06/05