By Town Crier Staff Report

The following is the ballot language for the Los Altos School District parcel tax, approved at the district’s board of trustees meeting July 22, as it will appear before voters on the ballot of the Nov. 5 special election, to raise the parcel tax from $264 a year to $597 per year, beginning July 1, 2003.

Ballot Question

To hire, retain teachers, provide competitive teacher salaries, fund school libraries, purchase textbooks, preserve science classes/modern labs, maintain neighborhood schools and small class size, protect junior high electives like music, foriegn language, computer classes, and balance the educational program, shall the Los Altos School District increase its existing parcel tax and annual appropriations limit by $333/parcel beginning July 1, 2003, with independent citizens’ oversight of expenditures and exemptions for parcels owned/occupied by persons 65 years/older?

Full text of measure

To hire, retain teachers, provide competitive teacher salaries, fund school libraries, purchase textbooks, preserve science classes/modern labs, maintain neighborhood schools and small class size, protect junior high electives like music, foriegn language, computer classes, and balance the educational program, shall the Los Altos School District increase its existing parcel tax and annual appropriations limit by $333/parcel beginning July 1, 2003, with independent citizens’ oversight of expenditures and exemptions for parcels owned/occupied by persons 65 years/older?

In accordance with state law, the voters shall have the opportunity to authorize district expenditures of revenue generated by this special tax every four years. A parcel is defined as any parcel of land shown on the current assessment roll prepared by the Santa Clara County Assessor.

The special tax shall be collected and enforced in the same manner prescribed by law for the collection of other taxes on the assessment roll. All property that is exempt from this property tax will be exempt from this special tax. An exemption from this special tax shall continue to be granted annually by the school district on any parcel owned by one or more persons 65 years of age or over who occupy said parcel as a principal residence, upon annual application for exemption.

For more information, logon to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office at www.sccvote.org.