Why I’m voting “YES” on Measure LC, the La Canada parcel tax
Posted on 02. Jun, 2009 by kchristieh in local news
For years I’ve helped raise money for the La Canada public schools. If we didn’t raise private funds, our kids wouldn’t have 20 kids per teacher in Kindergarten – 3rd grade, art, drama and music at the elementary level, computers, or a librarian and a guidance counselor at the upper levels.
Unfortunately, the current California/national/international economic crisis means this isn’t enough. If local residents don’t step up and pass a parcel tax, our schools are going to have to drop programs and positions that are critical to maintaining our schools’ high standards.
Measure LC would raise property taxes a mere $150 per parcel. That’s less than the cost of a postage stamp a day. And yet, it would raise approximately $900K per year for the district. It still isn’t enough to avoid making any cuts, but it sure will help.
Please join me on voting “YES” on this crucial measure. It’s a mail-in vote only, so look for the ballot you probably received in today’s mail and send it in asap. It needs 2/3 majority to pass, so every single vote counts.
You can learn more about Measure LC at www.measurelc.org.
By the way, San Marino just passed a $795 parcel tax, which supplements the $295 parcel tax they already had That’s a community that values education! Let’s show that we are, too!
To raise funds for traditional purposes such of this should require new ideas developed by thinking out of the ballot box.
Here is my dilemma:
On one hand I understand the ramifications to our children, and although I do no longer have kids in school, I care.
But on the other hand, I am resentful of the sneaky way that the organizers of the initiative are going about it. Take for example the exclusion of people 65 and older. This was not done out of concern for their “fixed income”; after all there are pleanty of wealthy seniors in LCF, whereas there are many working people who are also on fixed income, or paycheck. The real strategy here was to encourage the elderly to vote “yes” on other people’s money. It stinks.
But the main thing that bothers me is the teachers union. The compensation and the amazing benefits of unionized public employees have not received any scrutiny in this case. I am sick and tired of hearing these teachers whining, especially during times when there is a lot of suffering going on even here, yes, in our affluent community. California leaders have become hostages to these unions. By voting “yes” we are becoming the enablers of the teachers union without obtaining any concession from them; not even one little thing.
Unfortunately the only ones who will pay the price would be our children. The teachers unions do care about children, but not nearly as much as they care about their own pocket and power. I feel it is time to tell them to take a hike.
I am seriously torn on the issue, and I have not made up my mind yet.
As a parent of an LCHS student, who also has elderly parents in the community, I can honestly say that they and virtually every one of their friends that I have spoken to are voting yes, and will be paying the $150 parcel tax to help our schools, and they are doing it gladly. My own father is a retired school teacher, and knows the importance of supporting the schools, whether or not they still have children in the schools.
Also as a daughter of a retired teacher, I can also speak from first hand experience that our teachers are not compensated nearly as much as they should be. We expect them to hold the standards high for our children, on limited expenses. I don’t know of any teachers who haven’t taken money out of their own pockets to pay for basic resources for their classrooms, because they care about the education of the students. I remember many years where by the end of the summer we were eating Kraft Macaroni and cheese and hotdogs many nights for dinner, and praying for the next paycheck. And that was with teaching summer school and driver’s training, to bring in extra income, and my mother working. It is sickening how much is expected of our teachers, and how much protesting happens when they speak up about being compensated fairly. It also sickens me, with the degrading comments that are made about teachers such as: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach!” Absolutely not true. If we do not support education, we are working against ourselves. It is the key to success for our own children, and our community. So, support the parcel tax wholeheartedly, and without hesitation.
La Canada can try this method….
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/education/05charter.html?_r=2&hp
or
http://gnichols.newsvine.com/_news/2009/06/05/2898693-next-test-value-of-125000-a-year-teachers
I always envied the vacation time that teachers receive, especially around Christmas and 2-3 months of summer vacation. That is a great perk!!
I saw this posted on another site. I couldn’t have said it better:
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I am a resident with children in La Canada schools. While I am concerned about budget cuts and their impact on education, I do not share the apocalyptic scenarios put forth by fear-mongers using the economic climate as a reason to gouge the taxpayer.
I for one, will vote no on any parcel tax:
1. Not everyone in La Canada is wealthy.
My family is blessed beyond measure. However, we live within a budget and within our means. Unfortunately, be it the schools, educational foundation, sewers, community centers or some other funding need of the day, the constant nickle-and-diming of the residents in La Canada is absurd. Half of my children’s take-home packet is crammed with fund raisers and such items. I’m glad there are those in the community who can cut checks at will for every whim, some of us cannot.
2. Sewers.
This is a whole other issue of the absurdity of La Canada’s local government. In short, when researching our home in La Canada the estimated sewer cost was $15,000. Based upon information from the city it is over $60,000. While I hope any assessment vote fails, I need to save as if it will.
3. Jobs
Right now my wife and I are blessed with good jobs. However, like most organizations we’ve been preparing for the worst. No raises, cuts, the works.
4. Accountability
Many of us are being asked to sacrifice during this economic slowdown. Our schools should do likewise. I expect my children to be taught the basics to eventually prepare them for college. Much of what I see in our schools is superfluous even in a good economy.
Some suggestions:
~ For such a small school system there seems to be quite a number of staff at the board level. Do we need so many?
~ Many of us outside government are going without raises for the next year or two. Our schools should be no different.
~ Most of us do not enjoy fully-funded pensions and post-retirement benefits such as teachers and other staff, perhaps this is a perk which needs to be addressed.
~ The Educational Foundation recently championed that \once a week Spanish\ was a big priority. Really? Please.
~ Our schools place much emphasis on the arts and drama. Perhaps more of the funding should be placed on the parents of children who want to take part in non-essential activities.
Finally, the economic argument that real estate prices are linked to schools is specious. Yes, good schools and home values are linked, but many other factors come in to play. As one who is familiar with San Marino, much real estate appreciation has come from recent influxes of wealthy Chinese immigrants, paying top-dollar (and cash) for properties close to the Asian communities of the San Gabriel valley. La Canada’s higher rate of depreciation is mostly due to the difficulty and expense of obtaining jumbo loans and other financing. Once credit becomes easier and cheaper to obtain for high-value homes, La Canada’s property values will increase.
The longer I live in La Canada the more I see that there are \two\ La Canada’s. Those who champion schools-at-any-cost, support prohibitively expensive public works projects such as sewers and hideous Town Center developments, where money-isn’t-an-object – and those who have budgets to balance and children to raise, and struggle in balancing the two.
Thanks for your comments, Thomas. I love that they’re bullet-pointed, so I can respond to each one:
1. Not everyone here is wealthy.
I agree! And I’m hearing more sad stories each day. But hopefully people can manage $150 for their kids. It averages out to less than a postage stamp a day, but can make a huge difference to their kids’ education.
2. Sewers.
Ugh. I’m not looking forward to that coming through either. As they economy worsens, I seriously doubt that’ll ever go through. But again, we’re talking about $150 a year for the schools, vs. potentially $60K+ for sewers. Separate issues, and saving $150 will more likely negatively impact our housing values if our schools get worse.
3. Jobs
Yes, people who have jobs are lucky. Hopefully our children will get as good an education as possible so they have the skills it takes to compete some day.
4. Accountability.
What do you think our schools are teaching that’s superfluous? If it’s art, music, drama, etc., that’s a matter of opinion. I happen to think those are important to a well-rounded education, and are often what inspire us as humans. Music education has also been correlated with higher math scores. But this parcel tax isn’t mostly about those things. It’s more about class size. The educational foundation handles the art, drama and music at the elementary level.
Other points:
- Size of administration
The LCUSD cut the size of its administration about 5 or 6 years ago, and they are among the lowest paid in Southern California. I personally think they run pretty lean, and I know they work hard. Is there a specific position you think can be eliminated? Some that might seem superfluous are required by state law.
- Going without raises
I don’t know if that’s on the negotiation table for the teachers.
- Pensions, etc.
We’re bound by many state-negotiated items. Teachers aren’t generally paid a lot in salary, so pensions are a big motivator. Again, I’m not sure what’s on the negotiation table, or what even can be.
- Spanish
Don’t get me going on Spanish. I wish my kids spoke Spanish. But it didn’t happen, not even at the high school level. My last child may have taken his last LCUSD Spanish class yesterday. The Foundation needs to make sure they don’t have a bunch of kids in the Spanish pipeline who get to the end and drop off. But, this isn’t a parcel tax issue, and the money pales in comparison to what’s needed for more essential items. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of the first things to be cut anyway. (Just a guess.)
- Arts, Drama
All elementary kids take part in art, music and drama. At the high school level, the parents of those kids fund much of it.
- The real estate price argument came from a comparison between recently sold homes in the Sagebrush (non-LCUSD) area of La Canada vs. homes of equal size in the LCUSD area of La Canada. There was a 30% premium on the LCUSD-area homes.
Thank you for your comment. I’m so appreciative of this blog as a forum for discussions such as this.
Interesting article, success story about an alternative teaching method. The school is pretty small, but might be able to improve the teaching habits of mainstream schools.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31583603/ns/us_news-education/