By Sara Ballenger
Financially strapped schools asking public for help
The Los Altos School District will be asking voters to approve Measure H, or an increase in the existing parcel tax from $264 a year to $597 per parcel per year, during the Nov. 5 election.
A parcel, defined by the assessor, is considered to be the lot on which a house is built. Registered voters within the school district, which includes Los Altos and parts of Los Altos Hills, Mountain View and Palo Alto, are eligible to vote on the issue.
There is an exemption for residents 65 years or older who own or occupy a parcel as their primary residence. Residents must apply for the exemption from the school district.
The measure needs a two-thirds majority vote to pass. If the measure is passed, revenue generated from the tax will be used to maintain reduced class size, support small neighborhood schools, hire and retain quality teachers, fund school libraries, provide student educational materials, retain music, language and computer classes in the junior high schools, and balance the district’s educational program, according to the district.
The tax would appear on a resident’s property tax bill as a separate item and would be levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as a general tax levy, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office.
Measure H also requires voter approval to increase the spending limits of the district. According to the registrar of voters, the California Constitution Article XIIIB, Section 4, restricts government spending by limiting the amount of money a district can spend during a fiscal year. The constitution also allows voters within a school district to change the appropriations limit, but for no more than four years at a time, and the change must be approved by majority vote.
Yes on Measure H
Voting yes on Measure H is authorizing a qualified special tax on parcels within the Los Altos School District and an increase in the district’s appropriations limit for four years.
No on Measure H
Voting no on Measure H is not authorizing a qualified special tax on parcels within the Los Altos School District or an increase in the district’s appropriations limit for four years.
To read arguments for and against Measure H, logon to www.smartvoter.org/2002/11/05/ca/scl/meas/H/.
The League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area is sponsoring two voter information sessions regarding issues on the Nov. 5 ballot. “Pros and Cons of the Ballot Measures” is scheduled 7:30-9:15 p.m., Oct. 29, at the Los Altos main library and 7-8:45 p.m., Oct. 30, at the Mountain View Library.
For more information, call 941-4846.
