League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
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Measure B Maintaining Excellence Act 2004 Tax Old Adobe Union School District Special Parcel Tax - 2/3 Approval Required 3,903 / 60.6% Yes votes ...... 2,540 / 39.4% No votes
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Index of all Measures |
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| Results as of Mar 3 12:37am, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (22/22) |
| Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments | | ||||
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To keep school libraries open, provide intensive reading instruction, offer an enriching music program, maintain smaller class sizes when possible, promoting excellence in literacy for our school children; shall the Old Adobe Union School District be authorized to levy an annual parcel tax of $55 for four years, beginning July 1, 2004, with annual audits by a citizens' oversight committee, offering exemption to parcels owned and occupied by persons 65 years of age or more?
This measure proposes a special tax of $55 per year per parcel for each parcel of land within the District's boundaries. The tax would be based on the privilege of using the parcel, would begin on July 1, 2004, and would remain in effect for no more than four years. Proceeds of the tax could only be used for purposes set out in the measure, which include preserving small class size, providing intensive reading instruction, supporting school libraries, and providing an enrichment music program. If the tax is approved, the school board must create a special, separate account to be established for deposit of the proceeds of the tax. A citizens' oversight committee shall be appointed by the school board to review the budgeting of the special tax revenue, and to annually review an audit of the special tax funds and expenditures. The annual audit shall include a report of the amount received and expended from the tax for each year, and the status of any projects, and description of any programs, funded from the proceeds of the tax. The tax would be applied to each unit of real property in the District that receives a separate tax bill for property taxes. Parcels which are exempt from property tax, or on which no property tax is otherwise levied, are also exempt from this tax. The measure also exempts from the tax parcels owned or partially owned and occupied by a person who will be 65 years of age or older on or before May 1 of the year for which the tax is assessed. Persons claiming exemptions based on ownership by a senior citizen would need to apply to the District for this exemption the first year it applied to them. The measure describes what steps must be followed to appeal any decision regarding exemption, and apply for a refund of the tax, if appropriate. If two-thirds of the voters in the Old Adobe Union School District who vote on this measure vote "yes," the measure will pass and the special tax will be levied. The tax would be collected in the same manner as regular property taxes starting with the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
STEVEN WOODSIDE, County Counsel
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News and Analysis The Petaluma Argus Courier
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| Arguments For Measure B | Arguments Against Measure B | ||
| Measure B will ensure that the schools of the Old Adobe Union School District can keep their libraries open and continue to provide an enriching music program, important to the the quality of education we provide our students.
Measure B will also maintain intense reading and literacy programs to help struggling readers with additional support. All of these are shown to improve the general academic skills of children and prepare them for greater success in the future. Measure B funds will also support our class size reduction program, which maintains classes of smaller sizes in our schools, giving students greater individual attention and instruction. Measure B comes with financial safeguards! An independent Citizens Oversight Committee will conduct regular audits to be sure that Measure B dollars are used appropriately. None of the money raised by Measure B will be spent on administrative programs or salaries. Every Measure B dollar will be spent on libraries, music, reading assistance, and keeping class sizes small. Senior citizens aged 65 and above are offered an exemption from Measure B. Please join local classroom teachers, firefighters, police officers, business owners, retirees, parents, and community leaders in voting Yes on Measure B. Let's keep our school libraries open, our excellent music programs, our reading assistance programs and smaller class sizes. Support excellence in our schools. Thank you for your vote on behalf of all our children.
s/ Berta J. Curr
s/ Elaine Boling
s/ Karen L. Tribble
s/ Angelo "Paul" Accornero
s/ James Kimball
NO REBUTTAL TO
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE B WAS SUBMITTED | Wise counsel dictates that when you have dug yourself into a hole--stop digging. Facing a statewide financial crisis, it is time to stop spending and tighten our belts. As painful as this can sometimes be, there can be benefits. When we are forced to live within our means, we will choose to spend on those programs we collectively deem most valuable and delay programs of lesser value. We make no judgments about the merits of the programs proposed by the District, although we do suggest that the case for more spending has not been adequately made and there are no guarantees that the money raised from the parcel tax will be dedicated to the uses the District has indicated. We urge you to take a good look at your current property tax bill's special assessments and add the requested parcel tax. Then, ask yourself, is this the right time for the District to ask me for more money? We already paid our share of taxes, but where did the money go? The state's financial crisis has made it imperative for all areas of government to rethink how money is spent, especially education which represents nearly 40 percent of California's budget. We urge you to send a strong message to the District's board and management to rethink how existing funds will be spent by voting No on this Measure.
SONOMA COUNTY TAXPAYERS' ASSOCIATION
The Old Adobe Union School District has been tightening its belt over the past 3 years and has made 2 million dollars in cuts. The District is not increasing its operational costs with measure B dollars. It is simply trying to maintain programs that the community believes are important to the overall educational success of our children, such as class size reduction. Measure B will allow our schools to keep their libraries open, maintain reading and literacy programs to help struggling readers with additional support, and give our children access to music programs that are so important for children's education. An oversight committee is incorporated into Measure B with the express purpose of making sure hat these dollars are spent only on the appropriate programs. Every Measure B dollar will be spent directly on our students. Senior Citizens will have the ability to opt out of Measure B if they wish to. Is $1.00 per week so much to ask in order to support Excellence through Literacy in our schools? We urge you to support Excellence and join our local classroom teachers, parents, business people, senior citizens and community leaders in voting Yes on Measure B.
s/ Berta J. Curr
s/ Elaine Boling
s/ Karen L. Tribble
s/ Angelo "Paul" Accornero
s/ James Kimball
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Created: May 4, 2004 14:47 PDT
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