Issue date: October 20, 1999

Voter Guide: Election 1999 <z0048.0>Voter Guide: Election 1999 (October 20, 1999)

Future of schools in hands of voters; Three contested races, two money measures on ballot.
By RENEE BATTI

Voters on November 2 will decide whether to change majorities on two school boards and a troubled sanitary district, and to boost their financial commitment to community colleges.
Atherton voters also must decide whether to renew the town's parcel tax with a ballot measure that some residents are characterizing as a vote of confidence -- or no confidence -- in town government. Measure H would continue the tax for four years, keeping the cap at $750 per year on a typical parcel. The town has kept the tax itself at $650 per year, a level that translates into about 24 percent of town revenue.
Major changes

Four challengers and one incumbent are vying for three open seats on the Sequoia Union High School District board, which oversees four regular high schools, including Woodside and Menlo-Atherton. Three challengers -- Olivia Martinez, Lorraine Rumley and Don Gibson -- promise major changes at the schools if they are elected.
Incumbent Allene Sieling firmly defends board leadership in areas including curriculum, which the challengers have targeted during the campaign.
Also up for election are three seats on the governing board of the San Mateo County Community College District. Voters are asked to choose among three incumbents and four challengers -- one a former member who lost his seat several years ago.
The candidates have focused much of the election debate on Measure A, a bond measure that would raise $148 million to pay for upgrading facilities at all three campuses: Canada College in Woodside, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College in San Bruno.
Shouting match

Three challengers are trying to move into the three open seats on the West Bay Sanitary District board -- a move that would involve defeating two incumbents and creating a new, four-person majority. The district has been rocked during the last three years by the theft of an estimated $300,000 by a former manager, a successful lawsuit against the current manager over a conflict-of-interest violation, the recent firing of a whistleblower, and contention among board members that has turned some meetings into shouting matches.