League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA June 8, 2010 Election
	Measure B School Parcel Tax Milpitas Unified School District Parcel Tax - 2/3 Approval Required Pass: 7,002 / 70.79% Yes votes ...... 2,889 / 29.21% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure B

Arguments Against Measure B

Vote Yes on Measure B to improve the quality of education in our schools. Milpitas Unified School District is one of the top performing districts in the county. Eight of our twelve schools have received the prestigious California Distinguished School Award. State funding for Milpitas' schools has been cut by millions of dollars. Without Measure B, our schools face serious cuts to academic programs. Measure B ensures that our local schools have guaranteed funding that cannot be taken away by the State. Measure B protects and maintains science, math, technology and engineering programs, helping prepare our students for Silicon Valley jobs. Children benefit from the individual attention they receive in small classes. Measure B helps maintain smaller class sizes for first and second grade. Further, Measure B will help prevent the school year from being shortened. Measure B protects school safety. It ensures students have adequate supervision and safety at all schools through appropriate staffing. Measure B is a low-cost, smart investment. High quality schools protect property values and provide for a strong community. Measure B will cost property owners only $7 a month, is guaranteed not to increase over time, and expires in 5 years. Measure B also allows for an exemption for senior citizens. Measure B has built in taxpayer protections to ensure funds are spent appropriately. It requires annual audits, a citizen's oversight committee and absolutely no money for district office administrators' salaries. The Milpitas Unified School District has made tremendous cuts to live within its means, including eliminating employee raises, increasing class sizes and eliminating programs. Measure B is our opportunity to ensure our schools remain the pride of our neighborhoods, where our children receive a world-class education. Our students deserve our support. Vote Yes on Measure B. For more information, visit http://www.friendsofmilpitasschools.com. /s/ Marsha Grilli President, Board of Education /s/ Robert Livengood Mayor, City of Milpitas /s/ Sally Minor President, Milpitas Unified Council of PTA's /s/ William D. Weisgerber Chairman, Senior Advisory Commission /s/ Lawrence P. Whalen President, Milpitas Teachers Association Rebuttal to Arguments For Taxpayer Protections? By refusing to negotiate lower salaries, the school district paints the community into a corner, where the only choice is to reduce the workforce and hurt programs. They saw this coming. After they declared a budget crisis in 2005, the Superintendent's salary was raised by $32,000. In five years the raise totaled 34%. In the same five years, other salaries in the district went up 17%. Vote No to New Taxes Top performing schools are more about parent involvement, and less about spending. Milpitas has some of the brightest, hardest working parents in the state. That's why the district can boast of improving academic scores nearly every year since 2005. Creative solutions to educational challenges won't happen if you let the district settle for another new tax. Vote No to Wasted Spending The only thing that the expiration of this new tax will guarantee is that the district will waste thousands of dollars and many staff hours to get it re-authorized every five years. The time to stop a new tax is now, when it requires a two-thirds vote. Vote No to Unproven Investment Claims Measure B is not an investment program; it is a new tax to pay for ongoing expenses. The district's claim that school spending preserves property values is refuted by the evidence all around us. A strong community is built with hard work and not by this regressive new tax that will fall hardest on those who are just starting out. /s/ Brian Darby Chair, Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County /s/ Douglas A. McNea President, Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association

Vote NO on Measure B. Record numbers of Milpitans are unemployed. Record numbers are threatened with the loss of their homes. Yet in the face of these threats, the school district wants to increase the burden on taxpayers. The school district wants to make Milpitas a less affordable, less attractive place to live. In 2005, the school district claimed that a "budget crisis" was looming and they needed a parcel tax. After that attempt failed, the district raised salaries 7% in one year, nearly 17% from 2005 to 2009. The superintendent's salary went from $154,110 in the 2004-05 school year, to $207,104 today - a 34% increase. These are not the signs of a school district that truly believed they were dealing with a budget crisis. Do they truly believe it now? Before you approve another tax, make them prove it to you with action. Make them prove it by rolling back salaries and renegotiating with the unions. Make them prove it by stopping automatic annual salary increases. Make the superintendent prove it by taking a pay cut. Their extra $84 a year out of your pocket would amount to a pay cut for you and your neighbors. It would amount to a pay cut to local businesses that depend upon you. It would amount to a pay cut for every mother and father, and a pay cut for everyone else, too. That $84 is about the cost of two pair of shoes for growing children. It doesn't sound like much, if you feel secure in your job. It doesn't sound like much, in a family where both parents are still working. How does it sound to you? Vote NO on Measure B /s/ Brian Darby Chair, Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County /s/ Douglas A. McNea President, Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association Rebuttal to Arguments Against Anyone who has followed the news knows that every school district in California faces enormous budget cuts caused by Sacramento. Milpitas' teachers, community leaders, parents and students agree that Measure B provides our local schools with funding that cannot be taken away by the State. Good schools strengthen a community and protect property values. The Milpitas Unified School District has cut more than $15 million from its budget since 2002 including: Increasing class sizes in grades 3-9; Canceling summer school; Cutting district office staff; Eliminating employee raises over the past three years. This year's cuts from Sacramento will have a severe impact on our children. Potential cuts include: Increased class sizes in Kindergarten and grades 1-2; Elimination of science teachers at elementary schools; Elimination of high school and middle school sports programs; Elimination of middle school arts and music. We cannot allow state budget cuts to jeopardize our children's education. For just $7 a month, Measure B will help ensure Milpitas Unified School District remains one of the top performing districts in the county. Measure B protects and maintains science, math and engineering programs. It helps maintain smaller class sizes for first and second grade and helps prevent the school year from being shortened. Measure B protects taxpayers with annual audits, citizen's oversight and ensuring no money goes towards district office administrators' salaries, including the Superintendent's. It cannot increase over time, and expires in 5 years. It also allows for an exemption for senior citizens. Protect our schools. Protect your property values. Vote Yes. /s/ Marsha Grilli President, Board Of Education /s/ Robert Livengood Mayor, City of Milpitas /s/ Sally A. Minor President, Milpitas Unified Council of PTA's /s/ William D. Weisgerber Chairman, Senior Advisory Commission /s/ Lawrence P. Whalen President, Milpitas Teachers Association

Full Text of Measure B

Milpitas Unified School District high quality education and local control measure To help protect local schools from state budget cuts; provide revenue to stabilize local school funding; help maintain existing math, science, engineering, arts, music, athletic programs and smaller class sizes; and help prevent reduction in classroom instruction days, shall the Milpitas Unified School District assess an annual parcel tax of $84 for 5 years, with annual audits, exemptions for senior citizens, no money for district office administrators, and citizen oversight? Parcel tax funds shall be used to support educational programs and projects such as the following: Helping to maintain math, science and engineering programs; Helping to maintain smaller class sizes; Helping to ensure adequate student supervision and safety at all schools; Helping to maintain existing athletics, art and music programs; Helping to prevent reduction in days of classroom instruction. Basis of Tax The tax shall be levied on all parcels of taxable real property in the District. "Parcel of taxable real property" is defined as any unit of real property in the District that receives a separate tax bill for ad valorem property taxes from the Santa Clara County Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office. All property that is otherwise exempt from or upon which are levied no ad valorem property taxes in any year shall also be exempt from the special tax in such year. An exemption may be granted on any parcel owned by one or more persons aged 65 years or older who occupies said parcel as a principal residence, upon application for exemption. With respect to all general property tax matters within its jurisdiction, the Santa Clara County Tax Assessor or other appropriate County tax official shall make all final determinations of tax exemption or relief for any reason, and that decision shall be final and binding. With respect to matters specific to the levy of the special tax, including the Senior Citizen Exemption and contiguous parcel determination, the decisions of the District shall be final and binding. Pursuant to California Constitution article XIIIB and applicable laws, the appropriations limit for the District will be adjusted periodically by the aggregate sum collected by levy of this special tax. Accountability Measures The proceeds of the special tax shall be applied only to the specific purposes identified above. The proceeds of the special tax shall be deposited into a fund, which shall be kept separate and apart from other funds of the District. No later than January 1 of each year while the tax is in effect, the District shall prepare and file with the Board of Trustees a report detailing the amount of funds collected and expended, and the status of any project authorized to be funded by this measure. In addition, an independent Citizen's Oversight Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees to ensure that the special tax proceeds are spent for their authorized purposes, and to report annually to the Board of Trustees and the public regarding the expenditure of such funds. Severability The Board of Trustees hereby declares, and the voters by approving this measure concur, that every section and part of this measure has independent value, and the Board of Trustees and the voters would have adopted each provision hereof regardless of every other provision hereof. Upon approval of this measure by the voters, should any part be found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid for any reason, all remaining parts hereof shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent allowed by law.