By Sara Ballenger

The Los Altos School District Sept. 12 launched its second attempt this year to raise $4 million for school programs - but this time with the help of a professional consultant to lead the Measure H campaign.

“We really need to make this happen,” said Los Altos School Board President Margot Harrigan. “If Measure H fails, the high quality of education in our schools will be severely impacted.

“Last time we made a lot of assumptions that turned out to be inaccurate,” Harrigan said. “Why we needed a special election and the amount weren’t fully explained. We have also learned where we can tighten belts and where we can’t, so it’s not a total loss.”

Terris and Barnes, a San Francisco-based consulting firm with a history of working on school bonds, has taken on the task of soliciting voter opinion and communicating the message of the campaign.

Measure H, which will go before voters in the Nov. 5 general election, is a $333 increase in the current parcel tax of $264 per parcel per year.

The tax is assessed on parcels within the boundaries of the school district, which includes most of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills and parts of Mountain View and Palo Alto. A parcel is most commonly defined as the lot on which a house is built.

The district failed to pass the tax increase during a special election last April, forcing the district to make $4.4 million in cuts.

About $2.6 million was restored through fund-raising efforts by the Los Altos Education Foundation and Save Our Staff.

A two-thirds majority vote is needed before the district may increase the tax.

“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,” said consultant Barry Barnes.

“The key will be putting out a consistent message.”

The message of the “Yes on Measure H” campaign for Dick Hasenpflug is that the money the district will earn from an increase in the parcel tax is crucial.

“This measure is critical to keeping the Los Altos School District as the top-rated district in California,” said Hasenflug, chairman of the district’s Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance.

“These funds will directly benefit local classrooms.”

The district’s expenditures on Measure H will be overseen by a volunteer citizen oversight committee.

Senior citizens over the age of 65 can apply through the district for an exemption from the parcel tax.

For more information about the campaign, logon to www.KLASScampaign.org.