March 25, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Measure A supporters pile it on

by Alexandria Rocha

There are more than two months until Palo Alto voters weigh in on Measure A, the local school district's $493 parcel tax initiative, but its supporters have already launched an aggressive campaign.

Proponents of the parcel tax measure are set to pull out all the stops to promote the tax, after harsh criticism that the campaign for last November's failed measure was too low-key, ignored the opposition and didn't provide enough detailed information.

Campaigners have promised to face the opposition head on and answer every question posed by voters. Their evening phone banks have been running since March 1 and they plan to start walking the precincts Saturday. There is a community-wide rally scheduled for the end of April, and supporters will participate in the upcoming May Fete parade.

"We're piling it on; we're taking nothing for granted," said Jon Foster, a parent and one of three Campaign for Excellence co-chairs. "We're convinced that whether it's through the phone, door or mail, if we can explain to people why this money is needed, I think we'll have overwhelming support."

Megan Swezey Fogarty, another co-chair, said the campaign has received an onslaught of donations, but didn't have the total amount.

Measure A is the Palo Alto Unified School District's second attempt to renew and increase a current $293 parcel tax that is set to expire in 2006. Last November, voters shot down a larger proposal of $521 per year for eight years.

The measure needed two-thirds of the voters' approval to pass, as required by state law for all parcel tax initiatives. It failed by less than 1 percent.

After various meetings among district administration, staff and campaign volunteers, Board of Education members voted unanimously to try again this June. They tossed around two amounts for the next measure -- $465 and $493 -- finally settling on the larger figure.

Again, the proposal will need two-thirds approval. If passed, it would generate $9.3 million for the district, funding its kindergarten through 10th-grade class-size reduction program, as well as various staff positions, including counselors, deans, librarians and a psychologist.

The three "Yes on A" co-chairs, including Foster; former Palo Alto mayor Gary Fazzino; and Megan Swezey Fogarty -- a parent and host of state Sen. Joe Simitian's cable television show, "Capitol Focus" -- have designed a campaign that attempts to reach every possible voter.

On April 23, about 1,000 "Yes on A" lawn signs will be distributed, and on April 30, a community rally -- which is possibly the biggest element of the revamped campaign -- will be held at 10 a.m. at the Lucie Stern Community Center.

"That's a change in our approach. We're going to let everybody know what's going on, parents, teachers, members of the community who are neither parents or teachers," Foster said.

Supporters are so determined in their mission that voters can expect to see fliers with breakdowns of funds that even the district hasn't supplied. A Q-and-A form circulating among volunteers includes a pie chart calculating exactly how a property owner's $493 would be spent. Although the figures were drawn from a district-provided table, there is no guarantee the pie chart is exact.

This June's election is also guaranteed to see a beefed-up campaign from the opposition.

"We need to upscale our campaign to match whatever effort the district puts out," said Allen Rice, the local organizing chair for the Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County, which submitted a formal argument against Measure A to the county Registrar of Voters last week.

Measure A is "just flat greedy," Rice said. "And it's not really respectful of the voters to use the scare of losing the current parcel tax and at the same time to ask for a $200 increase. We're in a tough times economically in the state, and it would be nice for the district to show some restraint."

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