How do you measure success? How do you measure success? (June 10, 2005)

If you are the parents and school board members in Palo Alto, it's reflected in the passage of a parcel tax

by Alexandria Rocha

Last weekend, Kelsey Hammond's phone rang off the hook.

"I've had about 100 people calling me to say, 'You're going to vote, right?'" joked the 27-year-old private school art teacher after casting her "yes" vote Tuesday for Measure A, the local school district's parcel tax initiative.

"Honestly, though, I had about seven different phone calls. Everyone was courteous, but they seemed anxious to sway," she added.

It's true. Measure A supporters were anxious. They had already lost once, and Palo Altans do not like to lose. So they came back, smarter and stronger.

The result was an aggressive campaign that for many was like a full-time job.

They dragged tired toddlers to phone banks and skipped dinner dates with spouses to campaign. Night owls crafted e-mails late into the mornings. Many took election day off from work to push last minute efforts. They raised $110,000.

"This campaign is a success because they wanted it so badly," said Carolyn Tucher, a former school board member.

The district's first attempt to pass a parcel tax lost by about 200 votes in November. It drowned in the chaos of a high-profile presidential election.

When the Board of Education decided in February to return to voters, hundreds of proponents came out of the woodwork, committing themselves wholeheartedly to the challenge.

And when the election rolled around Tuesday, they knew their hard work paid off. Measure A -- an annual $493 parcel tax with a term of six years -- passed by about 74 percent. It will annually generate about $9.3 million to help the district avoid significant teacher layoffs and maintain the class-size reduction program.

It's no secret now that last fall's supporters thought a community so dedicated to education would never vote down an initiative to fund local schools. This year's campaigners left that pretense at the door and got down and dirty.

"Leave no stone unturned" was Measure A's unofficial motto. The campaign was a web that started in each school classroom and grew out into the neighborhoods. Literally.

A supporting parent was identified -- not to represent each school -- but each classroom and given the job of rallying the two dozen or so other parents with children in the same class.

While that was catching on, the three aggressive co-chairs -- former Palo Alto Mayor Gary Fazzino and parents Jon Foster and Megan Swezey Fogarty -- went after the broader community, hosting citywide rallies with entertainment by local high school bands, running tables at grocery stores and coffee shops, and organizing massive precinct walks.

"There was everything that was humanly possible done," said district Superintendent Mary Frances Callan.

For four months, supporters worked tirelessly to bring the initiative into the spotlight.

Many voters at the polls Tuesday, including Hammond, couldn't recall how or if they voted on November's initiative.

"I'm sure I voted for it. Anything liberal I vote for," said Palo Alto resident Jennifer Wheaton, who supported Measure A.

Those who had voted no, however, remembered it crystal clear.

"It was voted down once and if the local rich people want to push it again then ...," said one man, who wouldn't give his name.

The level of volunteer support has been credited as the main reason Measure A passed. Foster said his first mission was to find a forceful volunteer coordinator. He had seen Samir Tuma, also a local parent, speak at a board meeting in favor of Measure A and decided to approach him about the position. Tuma didn't need to be asked twice.

"It's all down to the volunteering. We had parents and teachers and senior citizens, every element of support," a glowing Tuma said on election night. "People were calling me all day saying, 'What do you need? What do you need? What do you need? '"

Tuma ran phone banks out of 11 houses strategically scattered throughout Palo Alto. On election day, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters periodically released the names of residents who still had not cast their ballots. Each time, callers quickly started dialing.

"We didn't stop calling from five minutes to 8," said board Vice President Mandy Lowell.

At 8:30 that night, Measure A supporters streamed into the Campaign for Excellence party at Dan and Sunny Dykwel's Gary Court home. Barton and Fazzino greeted newcomers with handshakes.

"Congratulations," both said.

"What do you mean?" was the common reaction.

Although the polls had barely closed, the county Registrar of Voters had already posted results from thousands of absentee ballots -- a whopping 77 percent supported the measure, which needed only 66.67 percent to pass.

The election was considered a success. Various supporters with a knack for statistics whipped out their cell phone calculators and ran the numbers, assuring anxious parents there was no way the measure could lose.

The evening -- with gourmet finger foods and full wine glasses -- was the polar opposite of November's solemn gathering when the first parcel tax proposal floundered.

By 10 p.m. that November night -- when it was clear the measure would not meet the two-thirds benchmark -- the few supporters left dolefully started channel surfing only to land on Comedy Central's "Daily Show" hosted by Jon Stewart, who was busy mocking the outcome of the presidential election.

This time around, the energy at Tuesday night's campaign party reflected a drastic change in attitude. Clusters of red, white and blue balloons -- campaign colors, of course -- lined the Dykwel's walkway. The tiny cul-de-sac was crowded with cars that also spilled onto Cowper Street.

Once 64 of the 74 precincts were counted, and the passing rate still hovered above the approval mark, supporters called the election.

Throughout the night, however, there was an undercurrent of realization that Measure A is not a cure-all.

"This community cares about education. If only we could help others in the state understand that," Callan said. "You never take it for granted."

On Thursday, Barton said Measure A's expiration date has not been ignored.

"In six years who knows where it will be. We are not in control of the economy, health care costs, enrollment growth," he said. "You can go out to the voters and suggest a new thing at that time. We could renew only, renew with less, renew with more. Lots of things can happen in six years."

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