Measure B…..It's Time

Bob
What has never been quite addressed by other blogs discussing the issue is the purpose for the Senior Exemption. For the same purpose of benefiting property values, don’t Seniors have the same obligation and incentive to back this tax?
Seems to me the Senior Exemption is inserted purely as a political gimmick to give it a better chance of passing. It’s always easy to vote for a tax on someone else.

I think The senior exemption takes into account the fact that many in that age bracket are on a pretty tight income. The good news is in San Carlos, many of our seniors still take an active role in the community and understand clearly that the schools in San Carlos are the backbone of the quality of life here. So while it’s an option to opt out, I daresay, many of them won’t. Don’t you see them out with their grandchildren? Don’t be so jaded, Transient!

Good call. Anybody that does not recognize the importance of passing this parcel tax is truly out of touch. Bob is right. Even if you do not have kids in our schools, wake up and realize that the schools have been inflating our property values for years.

I find it interesting that comments like “jaded” and “out of touch” are used to characterize my fair comment. And yet, there is not a well-thought out response. If income is the issue, why not have an income exemption instead?

No one called you out of touch, transient . We just need to get this thing passed. Have you been down to the camapign? Maybe you should come by. 555 Old County Rd. SC.

And yet again, I don’t see you addressing the issue that was raised.
About being called “out of touch”, simply read the comment by “Pass it”. Rhetoric is being substituted for reason in most debates these days, which will probably mark the end of my comments on this blog.

Transient,
Respectfully, isn’t the explanation for the tax exemption already in this blog? You stated yourself in your first comment that it is a political gimmick, and a later blogger commented on the fact that generally speaking, most seniors are on a fixed income. I don’t understand what additional explanation is needed. Concessions are always made to get things passed, this seems to be no different. Personally, I’m not willing to risk SC Schools and the corresponding high property values just because of a “political gimmick.”

A gimmick? justified? I guess it depends upon your views. The question i have for you is, does it matter? You believe in what the schools do for our community, or you don’t. What difference does a senior exemption make on that decision?

I agree. I can understand wanting to know exactly how the money is going to be spent and the strings tied to any disbursements. However, this seems to be a no-brainer. Spend any time at a school board meeting, PTA meeting, etc, and you will see how crippling the current budget is and how important this parcel tax is for our schools. Please vote YES on Measure B.

OK…I am not supporting this for a few well thought out reasons! Please try and convince me otherwise!
1. We passed a bond for general maintenance of the schools a few years ago. I was glad as most of the schools in San Carlos LOOK terrible. But I have seen NO improvement in lawn care, painting, etc. This effects property values…negatively!
2. I have read that Obama is sending 10 billion in funds to California schools…almost the same amount that the California budget cut…so wouldn’t that negate the argument that “HUGE CUTS” have made this extremely important?
3. We just voted on this, I get sick of voting on the same question over and over again.
4. Most importantly, WHY SHOULD I SUPPORT THIS WHEN 48% of SC School Families don’t support their schools as evidenced in participation the worthwhile KIDFUND?

SC Resident
Why should we bother. You have already made up your mind.
aw heck, I will play your lonely game:
1) Every improvement promised was made and came in under budget–if you want to pay more to make the schools more aesthetically pleasing to you, rather than safer and more functional for their intended purpose of educating our children–I will support you. Let me know when you get around to that.
2) That 10 billion will be split amongst all the states and all the school districts in the country and applied based on needs and density. We will rate low on all of the qualifying mechanisms which will translate into very little revenue, probably a small fraction of the $2 million in revenue being stolen by the state. That is assuming the state wide measures that re proposed will pass–which current polling shows they are not. Hard to even consider how deeper the cuts will be after the May 19th failure.
3) if you are tired of voting, then move somewhere that doesn’t provide you the option to–or better yet, sit this cycle out.
4) I don’t know why more parents don’t participate, and it is a sad statistic. But since your property values are correlated pretty well to the quality of education that is offered in your community, perhaps you will see the Jefforsonian principle of democracy–self-interest, properly understood–and vote in your own.
I get that there is no convincing you and your next post will be about how evasive everyone is in answering your questions as only you understand the world as it truly is. Spare us, vote no and go on your way.

Hi Tomcat,
Just for the record. I am not the same person as transient. I never said you were evasive, in fact, I appreciate your arguments, so CALM DOWN. Now let me respond:
1. The bond I was referring to was expressly for maintenance. If a bond states it will go directly to something, I believe it should. When it doesn’t, it is frustrating and I become relunctant to believe the next bond.
2. In everything I have read, Chronicle, LA Times…the NATION’s Schools will get 106 BILLION. California gets 10. Where did you hear otherwise. I would like to read it. Really! There is a lot of info out there and I would like to be as informed as possible.
3. I am not tired of voting. I am tired of “re-voting” on items that have already been decided. I prefer to wait at least one year before voting again. This goes for items I support as well…gay rights, etc. I think it is best to wait at least ONE YEAR….anything wrong with that?
4. I think we agree on more families going to the school should give more. I believe we both think that 48% is fairly pathetic.
I am sorry you do not like my opinion. I was hoping someone would take a deep breath and give me rational arguments. I have not 100% made up my mind. I am just strongly leaning the other way. I gave you my reasons without critizing you personally. Can you give me the same respect?

I appreciate everyone’s feedback. I don’t want those who are uncertain or against Measure B to feel that they are being beaten up.
It seems to me that most of those people who are uncertain of their vote or against Measure B, are not necessarily against paying the parcel tax, rather they are concerned in two areas (1) whether the need actually exists; and (2) want to make sure they see tangible results with the funds and want to make sure that the district is fully accountable on the direct spending. I think these are perfectly reasonable requests.
Posts on these two subject areas would most likely be the most productive manner of strengthening a stance in favor of Measure B.
I appreciate all of those that have taken the time to respond.
Bob

SC RESIDENT:
I’d like to weigh in on a couple of your topics.
Regarding point 3, I hear you, but the issue with this one is that the schools can’t afford to wait. There are serious cuts that are going to be made regardless, but more so if this thing doesn’t pass. From what I’ve heard, the cuts are not ‘extras’ — they are things that most of us have benefited from, thanks to the support of our elders (parents and other citizens who paid for our public education.) PE. Counselors. Science. Class size. This last one is particularly scary, given that it really gets at the core of basic education. Since the time of Measure S, the situation has become even worse.
4. Agree that more parents should give to the SCEF, but bear in mind that the more than half who do are contributing A LOT. The suggested per family amount is close to $600/year per student, and while I don’t know the exact figures, I believe that a lot of families contribute that amount or more. That is significant.
Personally, I am a strong supporter of local control of education. As such, I think that measures like these are critical. I don’t want to rely on the state and federal government to pay for education, in part because we can’t rely on them and in part because the more they give, the more control they’ll want in what our kids are taught.
When Measure S failed, it made me feel that our community doesn’t support its kids, and made me feel that people who benefited from others paying for their education weren’t willing to do the same for the next generation. I was disappointed to see the measure scaled back via Measure B, though I understand why it had to be done.
Thanks for keeping an open mind and wanting to hear the arguments in favor of Measure B.
(p.s. I didn’t comment on your points 1 and 2 because I don’t know the answer.)
(p.p.s. If you are concerned about aesthetics, then you should definitely support Measure B! One of the items on the list of potential cuts is watering the lawns, and I’m pretty sure that most decision-makers would strongly prefer to cut lawn-watering over firing teachers, staff and librarians and eliminating educational programs.)

Allison,
That is the most well thought out response I have heard yet in favor of Measure B. Supporters of Measure B would be wise to take a tone similar to yours. The tone of “trust us, it needs to pass or else” has grown old. Is it really wrong to ask for all of the facts prior to voting?

Hi Allison,
Thank you for your response. I do think you have good points that I am considering. It was a well thought out position and I appreciate that!
One thing is still bothering me, though. Maybe you or someone else can help?
Lately, I feel all areas of politics use scare tactics to “sell” points of view. For example:
Pres. Bush with terrorism…”we need to take away rights, to keep you safe”…Pres Obama with the economy “we need to push through this enormous bail-out to save the economy” and so forth.
I am still unsure (and I think everyone else is too) exactly how much of Obama’s plan will benefit the schools. One hundred and six BILLION nationwide seems like a big number that the federal government is giving to schools. Ten Billion to CA.
The numbers just don’t add up to me. Let me take you through what I have researched so far…and this is from newspapers such as the Sacramento Bee, LA times and Chronicle.
1. The California budget CUT 2.4 billion to schools….and “changed payment” for another five billion (I am unclear what that means)
2. Pres Obama’s plan is giving 106 Billion to the nations public school system. 10 Billion to CA.
3. So, the way I am looking at it the CA schools are getting at least a 2.6 billion INCREASE.
I know that the Obama plan is new and everyone is still figuring it out, but isn’t that a good reason to take a breath and see what the final outlook will be?
I feel the Teacher’s Unions are using “scare tactics” (like everyone else in politics) to do a money grab.
What am I missing?

Good questions!
Unfortunately, I don’t know the answers (though hopefully someone else on this board does and can weigh in!) But at risk of sounding overly SC-centric, I will share one additional thought on this topic.
It confuses me that so many people in San Carlos are focused on education cuts at the state and federal level. As I understand it, the proportioning systems are so out of whack that only a fraction of the tax dollars that we send to the state for education actually comes back to SC. When you look at the charts of how much other cities get — EVERYONE seems to get more, including both wealthier and poorer communities.
It’s my belief that San Carlos residents who are concerned about education funding should be advocating for two things: (1) local funding, e.g. Measure B, SCEF, etc.; and (2) trying to fix the allocation system to be more fair to our community. I, personally, will not spend any time or energy advocating for more education funding at the state level until the allocation formula is fixed.
Now, I recognize that education funding is important for ALL children and there are many needy school districts that must get funding from wealthier communities to survive. I wholeheartedly support this. But until the allocation formula is fixed (why aren’t our local reps doing anything about this? or maybe someone is??) then my energy will be around Measure B and SCEF.

Allison,
Thanks for the thoughtful comments. I just read through all the comments and appreciate the various views and passion around this issue.
As a supporter of Measure B, I have to say that the issue of local control is a critical one for me. We have great schools thanks to the support to the many families, businesses and seniors, etc. Until we can have a
concerted effort to reform the education governance system in California that sends too many of our property tax dollars to Sacramento instead of keeping them in San Carlos, we are limited in the options that we have. Measure B is one of them.
As a side note, on SCEF, there are a number of ways that folks support their schools financially including school specifc fundraisers and Spring Fling, which benfits all of the schools. I would point out that Spring Fling raises significant dollars for the schools. I am also fairly certain that Spring Fling contributions don’t count toward that 48% of families supporting SCEF. So the overall number of families supporting SCEF is likely higher.

The federal stimulus package could result in only about $250K going to San Carlos schools. That assumes that the state decides to pass it through to us. The last I heard, the state is NOT planning to do so.
Our district is facing a $2M state-imposed budget cut. Measure B will generate ~$800K and is needed to avoid layoffs of core subject classroom teachers and preserve the most basic offerings such as early literacy and hands-on science. The remaining $1.2M shortfall must be addressed via cost reductions and/or additional SCEF revenue.
As for families making an annual donation to SCEF, the participation has more than doubled in just four years from 23% to 52% and will be higher still this year. This number does not include the contributions/purchases to Spring Fling (900+ guest auction and gala that last month raised $350K toward SCEF’s goal of $1.2M) or to individual PTAs. When you factor those in, the financial support from parents is much higher.
The bottom line is that we can’t count on Sacramento or Washington DC to keep our schools strong. Measure B funds will be kept and controlled locally and cannot be taken away. San Carlos is lucky that at least we have a community willing to support its schools- hundreds of CA school districts are facing these drastic cuts with no hope of saving their basic programs.

Thank you Allison, Adam and Jennifer for your answers. It helps me…and hopefully others struggling with this issue. I would love to see the numbers you reported Jennifer…it makes a convincing case…are they published?
I am happy more parents are contributing this year to KidFund..a very worthwhile cause….I thought 52% was fairly pathetic…
I know this Bond is only $78…and I am probably making a big deal over a small amount…but with this economy, I want to make sure every dollar in taxes is going to the right area.
San Carlos could use better policing, new storm drains, etc. etc.
Quick question, because you all are so knowledgable. Is that a PAID crossing guard at WO? Can’t parents get together and support that program? I noticed parents do that “job” at Central. Also, Kudos to BA for having clean-up days and gardening days…why aren’t more SC schools doing that? Or are they? It looks good to the community!

Hi SCR-
I checked in w/ the WO Principal and learned that the older gentleman who occasionally stands on the corner of White Oaks Way and Cedar Street is actually a retired police officer (and grandparent of one of the students) who voluntarily passes out police “trading cards.” He is not hired by the school or district and does not provide crossing assistance.
Every PTA has clean up and beautification days as the district provides only very minimal grounds keeping. Flowers, re-mulching and major pruning are funded by and installed by the PTAs.
FYI- Playground equipment is also purchased by the PTAs.

Thanks for the clarification. I was not sure…
It is nice for the community to “see” the parents involved at the schools. It makes the “older generation” more apt to vote for bonds, if we see an involved group of parents and students.
In a perfect world, it would be nice to add a more active community service curriculm to public schools. I think that it would be good for the children and the community. I bet the school bonds would start passing easily.
Enough said…thanks for answering some of my questions…you have given me much to ponder.

Hi. My partner and I recently moved to SC and we are divided on this issue. Personally, I am against Measure B. So, those of you who feel in the lonely minority because you’re against B, don’t feel bad. There ARE others out there who agree with you.
Here are my thoughts.
1. I hate the fact that seniors are exempt and that is a good part of why I am against this measure. Sure, seniors may have a lower income than a professional working couple… but I find it hard to believe that seniors are as destitute as they’re made out to be. $78 per year equates to $6.50 per month or $1.62 per week, hardly a budget buster for the vast majority of people, including seniors. I think it’s probably less than those seniors spend on presents for their grandkids! Seniors benefit enormously from the rise in property values and I think they have an obligation to contribute. You want an exemption for low income? I’m fine with that. But I’m not okay paying more taxes just because I’m 35 instead of 65.
By the way, lteutschel mentioned that most seniors will probably opt-in to paying the parcel tax. On ballotpedia, it says that those 65 and older have an exemption. What makes you think that opting in is possible, and why do you think that people will?
2. I don’t yet know much about other things that San Carlos has done or continues to do to fund the schools. But the statistic that “48% of SC School Families don’t support their schools as evidenced in participation the worthwhile KIDFUND” is really depressing. It’s hard for me – a childless person – to support the schools when parents don’t seem to.
3. @ Allison. You say that “they are things that most of us have benefited from, thanks to the support of our elders (parents and other citizens who paid for our public education.)” My understanding (and it may be wrong, so please correct me) is that San Carlos gets less money than other school districts because of decisions and choices that were made by San Carlos residents (these “parents and other citizens”) before Prop 13 passed. It would seem in actuality that we’re actually more in the hole because of these short-sighted decisions made by our elders. You yourself seem to indicate that “EVERYONE seems to get more, including both wealthier and poorer communities.” Just out of curiosity, why is that? What responsibility do you think that long time SC residents have to fix problems that they probably had some part in creating?
4. @ Allison and Jennifer. Holy moley! You mean to tell me that most families are already being asked for $600 per year per student? I had no idea. Now I definitely see why some people are against Measure B. And, if as recently as 4 years ago, the voluntary donation level was 23% then that is truly pathetic. (Do you think that retired policeman who handed out “trading cards” actually gave money or helped kids cross the street? Or would that be too much to ask?)
As somebody who is a product of public schools and who grew up in a town where a lot of support was given to them, I am sympathetic to the need. But right now, I’m not feeling particularly supportive of Measure B. Sorry folks.
A final observation from a newcomer. For a community that seems to pride itself on civilized debate, I find the tone of voice used with people who disagree with the “correct opinion” to sometimes be quite patronizing, dismissive, and frankly a bit obnoxious. FWIW, you might win more converts if you were a bit nicer and accepting of other viewpoints.

new to san carlos:
Welcome to San Carlos! Hopefully you’ve found that one of the things that makes San Carlos such a special place is the spirit of community that we have here. The strong school system has traditionally also been an extremely important asset.
Just a few comments:
* Don’t be too discouraged by the 48% KIDFUND stat. The ed foundation is relatively new (the website says it’s four years old) and in that time has done tremendous things. Add to that the fact that San Carlos parents are incredibly involved, donating time and money to not only the ed foundation, but also in other ways (as referenced in previous posts) and I think that the data is actually quite encouraging.
* Regarding your comment about prop 13 and our elders… I couldn’t agree more that Prop 13 was a poor choice made by some many years ago, but frustration about that is no reason to punish this next generation of kids. My point was that providing a public education to the next generation has been a cherished American value for a long time. You said yourself that you are a product of the public education system. Others paid to make that happen, and frankly, I think it’s your (and my) turn to pay that back. Whether one is a “long time San Carlos resident” or a newcomer like yourself is irrelevant.
I hope you’ll change your mind!

@ Allison.
Just to be clear, EVERYBODY who lived in my community paid to make my education happen. Long time residents paid, new residents paid, people with kids in the schools paid, people without kids in the schools paid, people who were old paid, people who were young paid. And they paid a lot, certainly more than people here do. My family is shocked at how low my property and local supplemental taxes are compared to theirs.
As far as whose turn it is to pay things back, I agree with you that we have obligations to each other. I am very grateful to my parents who paid for my college education, and I plan to do the same for my kids (assuming I can, which is very much in doubt at the moment).
I assume you’ve also heard of the concept of “pay it forward”…? You know what would make me feel great about San Carlos and about supporting things like Measure B? A 50% participation rate in voluntary donations by those who have already benefitted from the great schools… too often those people seem to feel “I’m done, I already paid my dues and I don’t owe anything anymore. Let the next group take care of it.”
Now that would show some spirit of community.

Hi! I’m jumping back into the mix with a few observations:
Prop 13.
1. We all benefit from Prop 13. It not only allows elder San Carlos citizens to stay in their homes, it allows the younger generation to securely make a financial investment in a community without worrying about escalating home values.
2. I would say 80-90% of my neighborhood has changed home in the past 10 years…and at least 20% of the area has been remodeled. This is a HUGE tax GAIN to the county.
3. I question if the housing prices would be as high as they are if it were not for Prop 13. Example: When we bought, I felt comfortable “splurging” knowing the taxes were only going up 2% per year. I would have bought something much less expensive if I knew they could jump 20+% per year.
So, more expensive houses being sold equals more property tax!!
4. California might have less expensive property taxes…but it has one of the HIGHEST income taxes.
In conclusion, California is getting our money…it is a question of how they are spending our money and how they divy it up. Everyone seems to say San Carlos will get very little of Pres. Obama stimulus package….remember this is 10 BILLION for CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS and the California budget only cut around 3-7 BILLION… and the don’t forget PROP 1B which will be on the California Ballot May 19th… this secures another 9.3 Billion to California Schools.
Looks like we are being manipulated!!!!!

Hi friends and neighbors,
I share your frustration about how California funds its public schools. My children entered into the San Carlos public schools 7 years ago and since then I have become deeply involved in this issue. Born and raised in the Bay Area, I was in junior high when Prop 13 passed and will never forget the horrific cuts to our educational programs (ie the instant loss of music, art and sports programs to name a few) and the legacy it has left my children.
I had many of the same questions about school funding that you have voiced above, and I want to share what I have learned through my involvement with our schools.
(1) Regarding the issue of the property turnover resulting in increased local tax dollars, I too wondered where all that money was going and why our schools weren’t getting it. It turns out that only 25 cents on the dollar of our property tax money goes to our schools. Our school district receives a set dollar amount from the state per pupil, and our local property taxes don’t cover that amount, so the state backfills to reach the necessary per pupil amount. This is why we don’t see an increase in dollars to our schools when there is increased income from property tax. One day we will get to the level where our property tax dollars are sufficient to cover that amount, and in that case our schools will be able to capture increases in property tax revenue, but we are not there yet.
(2) As for the senior exemption issue, this is an “unintended consequence” of the provision in Prop 13 requiring a 2/3rds majority to pass any local funding measure. The 2/3rds threshold is incredibly high, and every vote counts in reaching that threshold. A senior on a fixed income may support our schools in theory but be unable to shoulder the added financial burden and therefore be inclined to vote against a parcel tax. The exemption allows the the many seniors who support our schools to vote in favor of a funding measure knowing that if they are in a position where they cannot afford the parcel tax they can get an exemption. It’s not ideal, but choosing between whether a parcel tax fails because there is no senior exemption, or passes with the support of the seniors with the exemption, I’ll take the latter. With any luck, we will all be seniors one day and can enjoy this exemption!
As for the question about opting in or out of the exemption, everyone starts out paying the parcel tax. It is only by requesting an exemption that you can opt out.
(3) I too am deeply frustrated by the high level of income tax in California. I have no idea how the state can be in such bad shape with what seems like so much money from income tax. However, I can’t stand the thought of kids in our public schools paying the price for people angry with poor management at the state level. It makes no sense and hurts all of our futures because the kids in school today are going to be the doctors and nurses who care for us when we are old, the teachers who will teach our grandchildren, the scientists who discover cures for disease, etc. We can’t afford to shortchange education.
San Carlos is proud to have top quality schools (both middle schools just received “Distinguished School” commendation from the state, and our elementaries score in the top level in API) and we can’t let the fiscal problems at the state level chip away at these quality programs. This heightens the need to raise and keep our tax dollars for education local.
(4) To address the question of how many parents are active financial supporters of our schools, I would like to clarify that the 52% participation rate is ONLY for the Annual Giving Program for the San Carlos Education Foundation (ie where a parent writes a check to SCEF). There are countless other ways that parents support the district financially: school PTAs, individual site fundraisers, district wide fundraisers, special events, etc. It is too complicated to create a “master participation” list that incorporates all of these areas across all 7 schools. My guess is that if we did, it would push participation to at least 70%.
(5) It is true that in the federal stimulus package, San Carlos could receive $250K. However, the state has made no indication that it will actually pass this money on to local school districts. They have a $40 billion defecit and are looking at $10 billion from the federal stimulus package earmarked for schools that they have to sign over in order for us to receive it. With the track record of state funding for education, I am not at all confident that we will see a single penny of this. And if we do, it will not cover our $2 million shortfall.
Because this is a real estate blog, I believe that strong schools are the best protection for our home values. Up and down the peninsula, you can tie home value to school excellence, and San Carlos is no exception. Without Measure B funding, our school will lose the fundamental programs like early literacy and hands-on science, not to mention music, PE and school counselors. At the most basic level, the $78 per year that Measure B will cost per parcel comes back to you a hundred or thousand fold in protecting your property value.

Carol,
A few thoughts…
1. California spends over $8,000 per child per year on K-12 public education. This does not include the money for fundraisers such as the KidFund or our local bonds. I suspect San Carlos is closer to $10,000 per child. Tell me WHY THIS IS NOT ENOUGH? Many wonderful private schools make due on less that that and they are paying property taxes and/or rent!!! I’m sorry, I am paying the money….where is the result???
2. I do think the 52% is pathetic for the only San Carlos “direct ask” fundraiser. All of the other “fundraisers” are indirect…mostly local businesses donating items for auction…so the bidder (family) is usually getting something at (or below) retail. The donating business is the true donor in these scenerios. I think if the 48% who do not donate to the school, vote for B…they are HYPOCRITES! I would say 90% of those families can and should contribute to the schools they use!
3. We have another (this one state-wide) measure for schools coming up on May 19th. This one gives ANOTHER (besides Obama’s 10 Billion) 9.3 Billion to Schools. Will that be enough?
4. I am sorry, until the state (and San Carlos) gets it’s act together…NO NO NO!

Hi SC Resident,
Thanks for your comments. While it is true that the state average is about $8,000 per child, San Carlos receives much less.
– $6900 per child from Sacramento (and this will be reduced in next year’s budget)
Even with other funding sources, we are nowhere near $10,000 per student:
– SCEF brings in approximately $400 per student
– our existing parcel tax brings in about $300 per student
– Measure B will bring in about $250 per student
I doubt that there is a private school that is not subsidized by a church or other institution that provides the high quality education that our public schools provide for less than $8000 per child.
To address your comment on the upcoming June ballot measures, this is not extra funding for schools. This is to preserve their funding at the current, albeit low, levels set in the budget compromise. Sacramento has already reduced school funding by $11 billion this year, and if these measures don’t pass it will be reduced further. This is not “new” money coming to the schools.
I heartily agree with you that the state needs to get its act together. But I can honestly tell you that San Carlos DOES have it’s act together, and for many years has been providing high quality, well-rounded education for all kids despite being chronically underfunded by the state. Every school in the district ranks a 9 or 10 on the API scale (the highest is 10) and our two middle schools just received Distinguished School awards from the state (only 28 schools in the entire state, out of 9000 schools total, received this award and we have 2 of them).
I hate to see San Carlos school kids penalized for Sacramento’s problems. We have the ability to stablize our local education funding with this measure (which costs folks 20 cents per day), and keep our schools strong, and hence our property values high.

I just received in the mail a yes on “B” brochure. I looked at the back and it shows all the people who are for it. The funny thing was that when I looked at the City Council members that are behind it there was one missing. It turns out that Matt Grocott does not support it. I did a little info gathering and turns out that he is the only one that has a child in San Carlos Schools. Is that a little bit strange or what. I want to ask him about his position.
Jan

Jan,
Interesting observation. He probably doesn’t think this is a good time for most of San Carlos…have you seen the foreclosure list?
Carol,
Interesting that Palo Alto and Menlo Park schools are missing from the “Distinguished School” List. Any ideas as to why?
Still not feeling generous…sorry. If the San Carlos schools were getting closer to 90% participation from their direct ask fundraiser and still needed money, I might change my mind. Sorry, 52% is too low of a participation rate….why aren’t the families who use the schools donating? And no, the Spring Fling doesn’t count…that is mostly business donations!!

Hi SC Resident,
To respond to your question as to why only 52% of parents donated to SCEF last year, I think you need to also be aware of the myriad of other ways that parents are donating to the schools, both financially and through volunteer hours. Many parents, myself included, work countless volunteer hours at our local schools to supplement what the state does not cover with funding. Many people do not donate to SCEF because they view it as either time donated, or money donated as a way to help their local schools. Also, parents are asked to donate to their school PTA to help support the individual schools, in addition to donating to SCEF. Additionally, every child in San Carlos was asked to sell raffle tickets for the Spring Fling, these raffle tickets were $20 each and each child was asked to sell at least one, preferably three. I did not attend the Spring Fling, but my children each sold 3 tickets as a way to support the fundraising efforts for our schools.

Hi Parent Volunteer,
I never said that parents aren’t supporting the school in other ways…and that is great…but since you are asking me for MY money, I will give you my opinion:
EVERY ABLE FAMILY who uses the San Carlos Schools should be providing a CASH donation to the schools. If you have a gardener, a housekeeper, a personal trainer, get your nails done, have an IPHONE, grab your morning coffee at Starbucks, have a gym membership, or can afford to have a stay at home parent, you should be sending a nice check into the schools.
And if you do not, and you vote for Measure B you are a hypocrite.
PS I believe the person buying the raffle ticket is making the cash donation to the school not the one selling. And BTW, I bought a ticket this year from a neighbor’s child.

Mark Olbert, one of the trustees on the San Carlos School Board who has contributed to Bob’s blog before has some great information on the current deficit on his blog http://www.olbert.com/board/?p=209#more-209
Provides compelling quantitative reasoning for support of Measure B.

Hi SC Resident,
Sorry, should have clarified better; my husband and I bought 3 raffle tickets from each of our 2 children ($120 CASH DONATION to the schools in case that isn’t clear).