By Town Crier Report

“School Finance 101″ is the subject of an open meeting sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area and the Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council Tuesday. Anyone concerned about the allocation of state and local funds to area schools are invited to come to learn how the Los Altos and Mountain View schools are financed.

Michael Kirst, director of the Stanford School of Education and former member of the State Board of Education, will be the primary speaker. Three superintendents of local schools: Rich Fischer of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District; Marge Gratiot of the Los Altos School District; and Jim Negri, the new superintendent of the Mountain View-Whisman School District will contribute to the discussion. Judy Hannemann, of the League of Women Voters and the Mountain View-Los Altos High School Board of Trustees, will moderate the program.

The meeting will be held 7-8:30 p.m., in the new Spartan Theater at Mountain View High School. The theater seats more than 300, and there is ample parking at the high school.

“The goal of the meeting is to give local residents solid information on the current financial problems faced by all California school systems,” said Jane Turnbull, co-president of the local League of Women Voters.

Specific questions to be considered will include: What are the sources of school funding? Do some districts receive more money than others? What is the difference between a parcel tax and a bond measure? Do our schools receive any special-purpose federal funding? Do school boards influence the receipt of funds? What is the process for the allocation of funds locally?