By Sara Ballenger
There’s no question the school district needs a parcel tax increase to help it maintain its current standards. The question is, how much? A phone survey sponsored by the Keep Los Altos Schools Strong parcel tax campaign committee is trying to find out.
The KLASS committee has commissioned a survey of voter opinion, which it hopes to share with the Los Altos School District before the district’s board of trustees decides on the amount of the proposed parcel tax increase at its July 22 meeting. The parcel tax increase will go before voters in a general election Nov. 5.
The survey costs $15,000, paid for by private contributions to the KLASS campaign, said Dick Hasenpflug, co-chairman of the KLASS campaign.
“The questions are designed to gauge voter support in general for education, their understanding of educational issues, support for the various programs which have made the district’s educational program so strong,” Hasenpflug said.
Klass anticipates increased interest in the November election after the campaign failed in an attempt to pass a parcel tax increase - an increase of $333 from its current $264 per year, per parcel - in the special election April 9.
The measure fail to garner the required two-thirds majority vote.
A parcel is most commonly defined as the lot on which a house is built. The tax is assessed on parcels within the school district boundaries, which includes most of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills and parts of Mountain View and Palo Alto. Registered voters within the district will be able to vote on the issue.
The district, which had been facing a $4.5 million deficit, was able to restore $2.6 million through fund-raising efforts by the Los Altos Education Foundation and Save Our Staff.
If voters approve a parcel tax increase, the district will garner revenue. The district is hoping to approve a parcel tax increase high enough to stave off further cuts in the coming years.
“The board is really struggling with the question of the amount of the parcel tax,” Hasenpflug said.
For more information about the upcoming school board meeting, call the Los Altos School District office at 941-4040.
