By Sara Ballenger
With the experience of losing the April 9 parcel tax special election under its belt, the Keep Los Altos Schools Strong campaign committee will try to pass the parcel tax for the Los Altos School District again this November, with one major difference - professional campaign consultants.
The committee is expected to hire Barry Barnes and Jared Boigon, from Terris and Barnes, a San Francisco-based consulting firm with a history of working on school bonds and measures.
The KLASS campaign was officially kicked off at a meeting June 13. The details of the parcel tax campaign are still in the early stages, as the amount of the parcel tax increase has yet to be decided by the district’s board of trustees. However, Barnes and Boigon were on hand to answer questions from parents, teachers and city and district officials.
“We have worked on a total of 24 measures in the last six years,” Barnes said. “Out of those, 19 passed, most needing a two-thirds majority vote, and have been during a regular election.” Barnes and Boigon have also worked with districts which lost elections, but were able to win on the second attempt.
Los Altos averages a 70 percent voter turnout during general elections, Dick Hasenpflug, co-chairman of KLASS, said. “The board has begun the process on two things, the ballot language and the amount,” said Duane Roberts, Los Altos school board member. “We must finish that by the end of July. We will be more on target when we get the budgetary numbers from the state.”
A major election cost will be a direct mailing of campaign literature to homes in the district. About 80 percent of the campaign costs will go toward communication, Hasenpflug said.
“We have to tell the voters what they will be getting, how the money will be spent and why the district is going for the measure,” Barnes said. “The key will be putting out a consistent message.”
Elections aren’t cheap, even in Los Altos.
“A schools campaign is the most expensive campaign that we run in this community. The last campaign cost around $50,000,” Hasenpflug said. “The school district is bigger than the city, so this election is going to cost double that, around $100,000, since it’s a general election and we have to reach more people.”
The district will pay the election costs, but KLASS will pay the consultants’ fees and everything else involved with the campaign, Superintendent Marge Gratiot said. By law, the school district cannot fund anything having to do with a campaign. The total cost for the consultants has not yet been finalized, Hasenpflug said.
The district can pay to hire consultants until the measure appears on the ballot. Once that happens, a campaign committee must take over the cost.
“The campaign committee said they would be willing to raise all of the money needed to pay for the consultants so it won’t come out of district funds and we really appreciate that,” Gratiot said.
The KLASS campaign is set to begin its fund raising for the campaign by selling hot dogs in Shoup Park July 4.
Donations may be sent to KLASS, 1001 Parma Way, Los Altos, CA 94024.
