By Editorial

We’ve had a week for the sour taste of the Los Altos School District’s parcel tax defeat to set in. The implications of the defeat won’t truly be felt until the fall, but impending layoffs of teachers and other staffers won’t help the quality of education our primary students now receive.

The school district had grown accustomed to winning every election and supporters had high hopes it would win again, despite fallout over holding a special election, the state of the economy and a proposed 126 percent increase in the tax, an annual $333 increase.

What went wrong? The above factors had an impact, no doubt, but many “yes” voters simply stayed home, under a false sense of security that the district would win again. That confidence factor is supported by the 64.6 percent in favor of the tax - just not enough for the 66.7 percent or two-thirds majority needed. The district was a mere 165 votes short.

It appears likely the district will go to the voters again for a parcel tax increase. Even if this is done during the November general election, funding, if approved, would not be available until the following school year, 2003-2004.

How can the district win the next time around? We offer the following suggestions:

Communicate clearly with the public. This is the prime responsibility of the school board. The decision to hold this past election snuck up on people. The board approved it Jan. 7, the first day back from holiday break, but few people knew about it. The board needs to be obsessive about communicating to the public, and not after the fact. One way of communicating might be holding study sessions with a large community task force so a big contingent of local leaders understand the issues and can, in turn, communicate them to their groups.

Change the ballot wording. The language on the ballot question was unbelievably convoluted and mentioned nothing about a parcel tax increase. Say what you mean. When voters can’t understand what you’re asking, they vote no.

Show an effort to lobby the state for a more equitable share of state funding. Apparently, lobbying efforts at the state level have been happening all along, but few of us know about them. If the district shows it is at least trying to take matters in its own hands, it will get more support from the public.

Emphasize the urgency in voting. The word needs to be hammered home to district supporters that every vote counts. Back in 1994, the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District lost its try at a bond measure by a mere 10 votes. The district eventually won a bond measure, but had to shave $10 million off the original proposal to get it passed.

Refrain from hyperbole. Some were framing this parcel tax defeat as a death knell for the district. Far from the case. Impacts need to be couched in realistic terms.

The district will continue to be strong - just not as strong as it could be.