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The San Ramon Valley school board Tuesday night unanimously approved of ordering a mail-in election May 5 for voters to decide whether to renew the annual $144 local education parcel tax for nine more years.
The existing parcel tax, approved in May 2009 by voters within school district boundaries, is scheduled to sunset in June 2016. It generates roughly $6.8 million per year, according to district officials.
The proposal to ask voters to extend the $144 tax through June 2025 received full support from all five school board members as well as from all seven citizen speakers at the board meeting Tuesday night in Danville.
The school board’s resolution ordering the election is due to head to the Contra Costa County superintendent of schools to formally call the mail-only election.
The ballot measure would ask, “Without increasing the current tax rate, to support academic excellence, retain qualified and experienced teachers, and prepare students for 21st century college and careers with strong reading, writing, math and science education, shall San Ramon Valley Unified School District renew its expiring education tax at $144 per parcel for 9 years, with citizen oversight, annual audits, no funds for administrative salaries, an available exemption for persons 65 and older, and all funds spent to support local schools?”
The special education tax would need approval from more than two-thirds of the ballots cast. District officials estimate the May mail-in election would cost $400,000.
Editor’s note: An update to this story as well as full coverage of Tuesday night’s school board meeting will follow.
Let’s see, should we vote for MORE MONEY for our educational empire….and spend $400,000 of taxpayer’s money’s to allow them a slim chance to say no to us! Of course! What did you think was going to happen.
And if they say no to us, we’ll hit them up again next year……..and next year……and next year.
We can throw more salaried people and more taxpayer’s money at them, than they can see coming. Until they are forced to pay attention to their own sinking ship….and ignore us (again).
However, more money won’t mean better education…..just more “projects” to politically propagandize the kids into the mind-set of the future vision.
For NINE more years? Get serious. Voting NO on this one.
Was there ever any doubt? Idiots!
Sadly, there are some who think the teachers and schools are good and will vote yes to keep their illusion. For anyone who has a student at the high school level, especially at Monte Vista, they should realize if their student is doing well, it is because of the student. Students are teaching themselves, and they should get the money for doing the job the teachers SHOULD BE DOING, but are not. Most of these teachers sit on their behinds, show movies, or put up power point presentations for the kids to read to teach themselves. And if that isn’t bad enough, Terranova hires children to teach our children when she hires recent MV grads to teach there who have no idea how to teach the subject they have been put in charge of. There is also the issue of dinosaur teachers who can’t stand teaching anymore, but don’t want it to affect their pension.
I agree with all the above comments. Enough is enough! Why not let just ONE tax expire? I’m sure the school district will survive, they just won’t be able to waste as much funding as they are used to wasting.They need to push themselves away from the “all you can eat” funding buffet!
Vote NO on new taxes!
Not only is SRUSD asking the taxpayers to pay for an extension of the parcel tax and they are also asking us to pay the additional $400K it’s going to cost for the election itself.
Going forward, I will never vote for another SRUSD “temporary” parcel tax because they never intend them to be “temporary” when they propose them.
What’s the money going to be used for anyway? My son tells me that one of his teachers at SRV High has them sit and watch Youtube videos in class while the teacher sits and reads or sends emails on his phone. Last year my sos Sign-language teacher didn’t teach anything all year. She told the students that she was losing her job and didm’t feel like teaching. Go figureQ!
How many of you work six hours a day for seven month of the year, have a every holiday known to man off with pay, and have a taxpayer funded defined benefit retirement which pays you as much at retirement as you earned while working?
It is refreshing to hear people finally understanding the motive of the SRVUSD.
One thing our schools will never teach is Business 101: Understanding and Planning an Operational Budget.
As you prepare to do your taxes for 2013, look closely at your own County tax bill. Mine indicates I am paying for four (4) SRVUSD specific special taxes/assessments. My bill’s total assessment/special taxes total $898.92. Of that amount, the SRVUSD takes $545.83. Really? Over 50% and they continually “want” more.
Being a third time parent at SRVHS I’ll say that under the direction of Ms. Steele, the quality of teachers there continues to decline. Students drive from tutor to tutor during the evenings attempting to get a solid understanding of the content that the “teacher” has given in class.
Take Mr. Bird of the Math Department. If a student asks a question that he deems ridiculous, he tells them to “get a tutor” instead of taking the opportunity to explain it to the class.
The arrogant demeanor of this school district is getting old and it’s time we as tax paying parents take a stand. I’ll always vote “NO”.
We need to support this parcel tax.
You are right. $12 per month is not too much.