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In a special meeting, Union School District board members voted unanimously to place a measure on the March 2004 ballot that would ask voters to approve a four-year parcel tax to keep the district's schools open.
The special Nov. 24 meeting was held just four days after a presentation of the results of a telephone survey conducted to gauge the possible outcome of a parcel tax measure at $195 per parcel.
A parcel tax, which will include a costly election paid for by the district, would be imposed on owners of parcels of land within the district boundaries, although the majority of homeowners in this district don't have school-aged children.
The results of the survey did not indicate overwhelming support, with only 49 percent of those surveyed initially in favor of the parcel tax. But some board members and parents said they were encouraged by the upward shift to a 60 percent vote of yes when respondents were given more specific information about statewide budget cuts being responsible for the district's shortfalls and possible school closures as a result.
Given today's economy, District Superintendent Phil Quon said, the polling results were anticipated. He added that he was surprised and encouraged by the increase from 49 to 60 percent. The board's decision to place the measure on the ballot was mainly made by seeing the level of parental commitment to a strong parcel tax campaign, Quon said.
Declining enrollment and an unrestricted deficit of $4,885,315 for the 200304 fiscal year has put the board in the position of considering closing two or three of the district's eight elementary schools, which could put Los Gatos schools such as Alta Vista Elementary School at risk.
The parcel tax—which will be called an education tax on the ballot—is limited to four years at $195 each year per taxable parcel with an opt-out exemption available for seniors. This fixed tax rate would generate enough funding to substantially close the district's budget gap, while not closing any schools.
Concerned parents throughout the district joined forces, speaking at previous public meetings to urge the board to consider the parcel tax in lieu of school closures. Parents argued that closing two or three elementary schools was not a panacea for the budget shortfalls.
"We're trying to not only save [the schools] from closing, but save them from other cuts," said Byron Henderson, a Guadalupe Elementary School parent and Save Our Neighborhood Schools committee organizer. "Schools could close and our kids could go to other schools, and there could still be more cuts. We're trying to solve the problem that would be there anyway. We still have a budget problem."
Henderson said the district has already experienced a couple of defaulted long-term leases of previously shuttered schools.
"The economic market is very different now," he said. "The market may not be there."
School closures could also adversely affect home values, said committee members.
"If closing schools has even a 1 percent impact on my home, that's a lot," said Tim Nelson, parent and Save Our Neighborhood Schools committee organizer. "The parcel tax is much less than the loss of the home value."
In the belt-tightening economy, Henderson and Nelson agreed that the $195 parcel tax is a large sum.
"It works out to about 54 cents a day. HBO is about 53 cents a day," Henderson said.
The money collected from the parcel tax would remain in the district, and the language of the measure guarantees that schools will remain open. But not all parents or district residents are convinced the parcel tax is the answer.
"I'm not sure I'm for it," said Karen Hannan, the parent of a fifth-grader at Guadalupe. "I think maybe the school district could find other ways to cut their budget. I want to find out more about it before I decide."
Under restrictive time constraints of less than two weeks to conduct a nonscientific survey of residents, the committee reported receiving 300 positive responses. Of those, a third were from people who did not have children in the district.
People such as Jack Knoll, who has no children in the district, joined the campaign for the education tax.
"I'm not involved in the education business. I've never worked for a school district. I do not have children in the system," Knoll said. "In elementary schools that's the foundation for which they begin their educational career—their educational life. If they get started off right, they can go ahead and become worthwhile citizens."
Reporter Lisa Toth contributed to
this story.
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