San Carlos' Measure B Passes!
Voters pass San Carlos schools parcel tax |
Our efforts here in San Carlos paid off! The San Jose Mercury New recently had an article on Measure B passing, here were some of the highlights: It took six months, but the ailing San Carlos School District finally got its parcel tax. The ballot initiative for the $78 per parcel tax passed convincingly. According to semi-official results posted by the San Mateo County Elections Office, 71.2% of voters voted YES on Measure B, with all 24 precincts reporting. The parcel tax needed support from two-thirds of voters to pass. The measure taxes San Carlos property owners $78 more annually for six years. Seniors ages 65 and older can seek exemption. The district's current $110 parcel tax will sunset in 2011. Measure B will generate $800,000 per year for the district, which is facing $2 million in budget cuts next school year. In March the district issued pink slips to about two dozen certificated employees, including teachers, and warned about 16 to 20 part-time and full-time personnel would likely be laid off if the measure failed. Superintendent Steve Mitrovich said budget cuts, including the possibility of some layoffs, will still be necessary even with the new revenue. The district's board of education will meet Thursday to discuss next school year's budget and decide whether to lay off any certificated employees. "It doesn't put me completely at ease," said Brittan Acres teacher Jessica Melton, who got her pink slip in March. "But I think that with this money it can help just regular programs like literacy and counseling and things like that." "Honestly I thought given the current economy that it would have been a struggle to pass," said Chris Mahoney, director of the district's Charter Learning Center. "It just makes the city more desirable; people want to move to San Carlos because we take care of our kids." Thanks to all who voted for this very important measure – keeping the quality of schools up in San Carlos will continue to help with our property values in the long run! |
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Comments
I have lived in San Carlos for 31 years. Both my boys attended San Carlos Public schools.
The San Carlos schools are good and good schools are an important piece to any community.
So in some ways I am happy to see the parcel tax passed.
You note the current parcel tax sunsets in 2011.
It would not suprise me to find another parcel tax for schools on the ballot in 2011 if not even next year.
See we have a problem, government spending is out of control at ALL LEVELS.
SF Chron has an article yesterday that stated at 480 SF pulbic employees have retired and earn over $100,000 a year from their pensions. If my math is right that is $48,000,000 $48Million a year to people who currently provide NO service to SF residents. This number is only going to mushroom in the coming years.
Something is badly out of whack.
Private employment in our country has declined during this recession. Public employment has increased during the same time period.
Something is backwards here.
With pensions for most govenrment employess paying at 90% of top income after 30 years of service, the financial cost to the general public - ie the tax paying citizens can do nothing but get bigger and bigger and bigger. Nothing against any government individual worker - police fire teacher etc - but the math can not work. The drain is never ending!
If we the people need to pay pensions to most public employees for what 30 to 40 years after retirement at 90% of their working income, the government will never have enough money. When one employee retires, that person gets paid 90% and a new employee must be hired. The cycle is endless and will bankrupt us all.
So something is wrong - it is like the tail wagging the dog.
The insatiable demand for more and more money for government spending and salary and benefits for public employees will never end.
My comments do not in any way discount the work these individual government employees do but the math just does not work. It is like social security. It used to be 4 or 5 workers paid into to the system for every one that receives benefits. Today it is rapdily approaching 1 person paying in and 1 person receiving. Everyone knows the system is close to bankrupt.
Other government spending is doing the same thing.
It is like all the private sector needs to work and pay taxes to support the government sector while our money is spent inefficiently and wastefully.
Unless signicant changes are made, the ravenous hunger of our govenrmental organizations for more and more money will never end.
So look for another school tax very soon.