June 03, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Measure A or Plan B?

by Alexandria Rocha

Gerry Matranga, the local school district's business manager, said California's school finance system is a lot like the Winchester Mystery House. It's a bit scary, and no one understands it.

"It's a combination of court cases, voter initiatives and legislative acts," he said. "You have all these tails wagging the dog." Although a tad facetious, Matranga's comment rings true. It reflects the complicated state of school financing that has districts across the state scrambling to find additional funding. The most popular means: a parcel tax measure. The Palo Alto Unified School District hopes to avoid significant layoffs and increased class sizes through Measure A - a $493 per parcel tax on the June 8 ballot. "Nothing less than the education of our children is at stake," said Gary Fazzino, a former city of Palo Alto mayor and co-chair of the citizens' Campaign for Excellence. The opponents, mostly a small group of anti-tax residents led by Wayne Martin, say the parcel tax is a short-term answer to an inadequate school financing system, they would rather voters sit down with the state and local education budgets to see where the trouble started. "Palo Alto Unified has simply overspent," Martin said. "If the district recognized the ups and downs of the Silicon Valley business cycle, which we all know comes every four to eight years, there wouldn't be a big crisis like we're in today." While supporters have mounted an aggressive "yes" campaign -- hosting community rallies, a 2,000 endorsers drive and tables at coffee shops and grocery stores -- the opponents have also charged ahead, attacking district enrollment policies, the court-ordered desegregation act known as the Tinsley Program, and teacher salaries. Time, however, is nearly up for both sides. If two-thirds of the voters approve the measure, which is required by law for all parcel taxes, it will generate $9.3 million a year to avoid significant cutbacks, including 100 teacher layoffs, closing an elementary school, and shortening the school day for the middle and high school campuses.

Just four years ago, 70 percent of Palo Alto's voters approved an initial parcel tax for the district. The $293 tax, which has generated $5.5 million per year, helped raise the status quo of education in Palo Alto. That same year, the district also reaped the benefits of a 13 percent rise in local property taxes, which provide Palo Alto Unified's main source of revenue.

With yields soaring, school officials beefed up curricula, gave employees a big raise, decreased class sizes and hired dozens of teachers.

But in 2003-'04, two major events occurred that hit the district hard. For one, property taxes plummeted to less than 1 percent growth. Second, the state -- trying to curb its own budget woes -- stopped giving the district $120 per student, known as "basic aid" funding.

As Matranga said, the loss of basic-aid, which primarily hit districts in affluent areas, was just another twist and turn for California's school finance system. There have been many mixed messages along the way.

In the mid-'90s, for example, the state dished out incentive funds to reduce kindergarten- through third-grade class sizes -- known as the class-size reduction program -- to improve student achievement.

Although it is still up in the air, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has now proposed suspending Proposition 98, which was passed in 1988 to guarantee schools a minimum level of state funding.

Dozens of overlapping and contradictory laws such as those have been passed throughout the last three decades, creating a confusing and bumpy road for school districts statewide.

"Nobody ever has really taken the time and thought to put together a school finance system that the population will embrace and understand," Matranga said.

In the past two years, the district has reduced its budget by $6.5 million, cutting staff and programs and dipping into reserves to avoid doling out more pink slips.

The dilemma led the district to head to voters last November in an attempt to bump up the amount property owners pay out for schools. Supporters asked for $521 per year, a $228 increase over the current tax.

November's measure disappeared in the shadow of a high-profile presidential election and lost by about 200 votes. It was the last item on a lengthy ballot and many voters simply did not weigh in. Martin and his team were credited for egging on doubt and asking pointed questions that were left unanswered.

"Yes" campaigners were also accused of running a discreet campaign that banked on and promoted a district image of motherhood and apple pie. Under an in-house consultant's direction, supporters also ignored Martin's crusade.

There is now less than a week from the Measure A election; Palo Alto Unified and its critics have everyone's full attention.

With Fazzino and two aggressive parent co-chairs -- Jon Foster and Megan Swezey Fogarty -- at the reins of a new, highly-charged campaign, Martin is being challenged.

They have been adamant about providing the community with specific figures on how the money will be spent if the measure is approved. They've held community rallies, participated in this year's May Fete Parade, and distributed hundreds of fliers and lawn signs.

They have made it clear that, unlike the parcel tax of 2001, Measure A would not be used to enhance district offerings, it would be used to restore some of the programs and staff cut when things turned rocky.

Specifically, about 34 elective class periods would be given back to the high schools and 20 to the middle schools. Campaigners cannot pinpoint exactly what those would be, since it would be up to each school's administrators to decide.

However, since Palo Alto High School did lose its advanced placement physics and German classes to recent budget cuts, those courses could be restored. At Gunn, it could be the junior American-English history class or a second section of biotechnology.

A $493 per year parcel tax would also restore two high school deans, two counselors at the secondary schools, and one part-time psychologist and two librarians at the elementary schools.

The election climate this time may have less to do with "red and blue" states, but it is still controversial.

Disgruntled teachers have been rallying the state capital all year, frustrated by broken funding promises by top legislators. Dozens of school districts across the state are trying to levy parcel taxes to generate local revenue. Schools are closing throughout the Bay Area and music programs are being slashed, such as in Redwood City just this week.

While education officials say they need funding for enhanced programs, such activities are under increased scrutiny. For example, communities have attacked after-school sports, saying they're becoming too competitive as scholarship opportunities shrink.

While selective classes remain on the "want list," experts on student stress -- such as Stanford lecturer Denise Clark Pope -- say students here have enough class time and they need more free time to tinker around.

Local education officials, however, say they still have to meet the demands of the well-educated, high-powered parents who want high-quality education for their children.

"This is an extremely expensive place to live. I'm a struggling home owner as well. I do not take this parcel tax election lightly," said Swezey Fogarty. "But it's becoming acceptable to have degraded public schools and degraded school funding. Every district around is trying to pass a parcel tax," she added. To get an idea of how the district was faring in regards to its course offerings, Camille Townsend, a Board of Education member, asked a few parents for opinions prior to deciding on whether a new parcel tax was the way to go. Most of the comments were encouraging, but some highlight just how much pressure the district faces to offer expanded class catalogs. Townsend shared the responses with the Weekly under the condition they would be anonymous. Here are a few: *"...the loss of German and ASL are a detriment to the district. And I think it's an embarrassment that the district doesn't even offer Mandarin in high school, and has so far given up its opportunity to have Mandarin immersion in elementary school." *Another parent wants the district to "fund stress-reducing activities -- yoga, pilates, mindful meditation. Let's put our money where our mouth is in reducing stress in our teens." *And yet another said: "I would like to see smaller class sizes, ideally in all subjects." The opponents, and some supporters, realize parcel taxes have expiration dates and may just be Band-Aids. But as Sarah McDermott, an 18-year-old Gunn High School senior, said earlier this week, "We have to focus on the short term right now."

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