Editorial Editorial (March 05, 2004)

Election results favor local public schools

The Mountain View-Whisman School District dodged a bullet this week when voters approved a $1.6-million parcel tax with 69 percent of "yes" votes. It wasn't an overwhelming victory, like the 70-percent-plus rates of approval of some districts, but it was greatly appreciated by district officials just the same.

In contrast to last year's defeat of the heftier Measure E tax proposed last year, Measure J had the strong support of the business community and few real opponents. That is because voters appreciated the fair way it assessed property owners, starting at just $75 a year for most homes. And while Measure J won't restore all the funding lost to the district in recent state budget cuts, it will pay for several programs including music and smaller class sizes, two very important needs in today's stressed economy.

And there was more good news Tuesday night, when Superintendent Jim Negri announced that the passage of Measure J, along with Propositions 57 and 58, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced to restore order to the state's economy, would mean that no district schools would be closed, at least this year.

Just a few weeks ago, when the governor's $15-billion bond measure appeared headed for defeat, Mountain View-Whisman officials were studying the very real possibility that at least one of the district's nine schools would be forced to close. Such an agonizing step had parents and teachers on edge, and now that the threat has subsided, at least temporarily, school families can breathe a sigh of relief.

By supporting the Measure J parcel tax, Mountain View residents have demonstrated that they are willing to dig a little deeper to provide additional financial support to schools, if they believe the tax is fairly applied and necessary to maintain the high quality of education expected in this community.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.