The volunteers aren't running for office, they're looking for a mark next to the "yes" on Measure G at the March 2 ballot.

The grassroots campaign took off last fall when district board members agreed with parents and area residents that the risk of meeting a two-thirds vote was worth it to try to keep the schools open. Phil Quon, superintendent, said at the time that he was impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment displayed by the measure's supporters which included parents and non-parents.

Measure G will ask voters to agree to a four-year $195 parcel tax that will guarantee that all the schools in the small 10-school district remain open. Without the money the district faces a state-created budget shortfall greater than $2 million, and would be forced to close at least two elementary schools.

Byron Henderson, the campaign's spokesperson, said that the annual $195 works out to about 54 cents a day. He also cautions that if the measure fails and two or three schools are closed, the deficit gap still will not be closed.

"They still would potentially have to make significant cuts in staffing to remedy the other part of the deficit after they close the schools," said Dave Kempski, a Los Gatos resident and the treasurer of the campaign. "The only viable alternative on the table is [Measure G]."

One of the issues at stake, says Henderson, is that the option of closing the schools is tied to leasing the buildings to private industry once classrooms are relocated to the remaining campuses. Schools in the district that closed in the past are now being leased out to private schools and to a church, however supporters say the district has wrestled with long-term leaseholders defaulting due to the economic downturn and they fear new tenants for additional empty buildings would be hard to come by.

Richard Matusich, a San Jose Realtor who works with both residential and commercial sales and leases, says the commercial market is slow but has been picking up a little lately.