League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Mateo County, CA June 3, 2014 Election
	Measure C School Bond Bayshore Elementary School District 55% Approval Required Pass: 325 / 82.1% Yes votes ...... 71 / 17.9% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure C

Arguments Against Measure C

Our schools are the most important assets in our community and should be our number one priority. From higher achieving students to greater neighborhood safety and improved property values, quality schools make a difference. While our teachers and staff do a great job in educating our children, many classrooms and school facilities at the Bayshore Elementary School District are outdated and inadequate to provide students with the facilities they need to succeed. This is why our children need your YES vote on Measure C. Although our schools have been well maintained over the years, aging classrooms and facilities must be upgraded since many do not meet 21st century standards. Many of the buildings our children use are between 30-50 years old! Measure C would allow the District to improve our schools and the quality of technological and educational standards and better our community. If passed, Measure C will provide funding to make facility improvements at Bayshore Schools including: replacing outdated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems repairing deteriorating plumbing and sewer systems modernizing outdated classrooms, restrooms, and school facilities repairing or replacing leaky roofs upgrading inadequate electrical systems. Measure C makes financial sense and protects taxpayers. All funds must be spent locally and cannot be taken away by the State By law, spending must be reviewed and annually audited by an independent citizens' oversight committee funds can only be spent to improve local elementary schools, not for teacher or administrator salaries. Measure C upgrades and renovates old and inadequate school facilities, improves the education of local children, and maintains the quality of our community. That's something we can all support. Please join us and vote YES ON MEASURE C! /s/ Martha Padilla /s/ Su Hu /s/ Maria Duran /s/ Teresa Hintosa Rebuttal to Arguments For When school boards ask voters' permission to go into debt with bonds like Measure C, what are they saying? They are admitting that everything they spend our tax dollars on, now, is more important than the projects in this measure. Budgets reflect priorities. Bayshore Elementary School District is saying every education dollar spent today is going to something they prioritize higher than "improving student access ... to modern technology." Do you agree? Education Data Partnership (www.Ed-Data.K12.ca.us) shows only about 380 students in Bayshore Elementary School District so this bond could exceed $15,400/student - NOT counting interest and administration expenses. Would you buy a computer with a useful life of 3-5 years and pay for it with a 25 year loan? No? That's the District is asking you to do. Which is more important to you? 1. Paying reasonable amounts for "modern technology" now by using dollars already in schools' budgets? 2. Sending new tax dollars - through principal and interest payments - to big banks, investment brokers, and others who buy these bonds as tax shelters. If you value children's "access to computers" over funding tax shelters, vote NO on Measure C. If you value children having access to "modern technology" versus making principal and interest payments for 25 years, vote No on Measure C. /s/ Mark W.A. Hinkle, President, Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association

When school boards ask voters' permission to go into debt with bonds like Measure C, what are they saying? They are admitting that everything they spend our tax dollars on now is more important than the projects in this measure. Budgets reflect priorities. Bayshore Elementary School District is saying every education dollar spent today is going to something they prioritize higher than "improving student access to modern technology." Do you agree? Education Data Partnership (www.Ed-Data.K12.ca.us) shows only about 389 students in Bayshore Elementary School District so this bond could exceed $15,400/student - not counting interest and administration expenses. When we buy homes, truth-in-lending laws require that we're told the real cost of those homes. For example: Borrowing $600,000 at 5% interest for 30 years means $38,651/year in principal and interest - a lifetime cost of $1,159,534. Shouldn't consumer protection laws apply to bonds, too? We taxpayers deserve to know the full truth about Measure C. We don't know when this debt will begin, let alone what its interest rate will be. Who buys computers on a 25-year payment plan? Instead of making loan payments for over two decades with a fraction (>1/6) of the proposed loan, we could buy enough computers for every child enrolled now and upgrade to new models every 4 years. Which is more important to you? 1. Paying reasonable amounts for "modern technology" now by using dollars already in schools' budgets? 2. Sending new tax dollars - through principal and interest payments - to big banks, investment brokers, and others who buy these bonds as tax shelters. If you value your children's "access to computers" over funding tax shelters, vote NO on Measure C. If you value children learning with "modern technology" over making 25 years' interest payments, vote No on Measure C. /s/ Mark W.A. Hinkle, President, Silicon Valley Taxpayers' Association Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure C funds will go right where they're needed - to improve classrooms and support Bayshore students. Don't let our opponent mislead you. He doesn't have the facts and doesn't live in our community. Here are the facts: Measure C provides safe, modern classrooms that local students need to succeed. Measure C is locally controlled and every dollar stays right here, benefiting local schools, local children, and local property values. No other source of funding exists to repair our schools. Measure C also improves efficiency and eliminates costly repairs, saving scarce resources to support teachers and classroom programs. To protect excellent schools and ensure students have safe and up-to-date classrooms, vote YES on C. Although our schools do an outstanding job managing shrinking budgets, aging plumbing and sewer systems must be repaired, outdated and inefficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems must be replaced, and classrooms require 21st century instructional technology to provide Bayshore students with modern skills. Measure C is the only solution for our schools. The longer we wait, the more expensive these improvements will become. Measure C is simple - it protects quality education in local schools. Strict accountability provisions guarantee that all funds will be spent only on voter-approved projects. No funds can be spent on teachers' or administrators' salaries, benefits, or pensions. Our students deserve a quality education. Join us - vote YES on C. /s/ Martha Padilla /s/ Su Hu /s/ Maria Duran /s/ Teresa Hintosa