League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA June 8, 2010 Election
	Proposition A School Facilities Special Tax San Francisco County Special Tax - 2/3 Approval Required Pass: 102873 / 70.02% Yes votes ...... 44043 / 29.98% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition A

Arguments Against Proposition A

We can all agree that in order for our kids to achieve educational success we must provide them with safe learning environments. In 1990, San Franciscans passed a measure to ensure earthquake, fire, and life safety in San Francisco's 150 public school buildings. Today, the original measure is up for renewal and in these challenging economic times, we need to be sure our schools stay earthquake and fire safe. Prop A makes sure our children and teachers don't suffer even greater cuts at the expense of mandatory earthquake and fire safety work. Prop A is not a tax increase. The Mello-Roos tax generates $6.9 million a year towards necessary school safety, maintenance and repairs to our city's public school classrooms. These funds help with seismic strengthening, fire and life-safety, including fire alarm systems, fire sprinklers, and paths of exiting. The measure also funds the salaries of employees who work directly on repairing and keeping schools safe for students and teachers. Since the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989, the San Francisco Unified School District has worked hard to make sure our schools are ready to withstand future earthquakes and are well protected from fires. We have kept our promise to the voters of San Francisco to manage these monies wisely, effectively, and efficiently in order to upgrade our schools seismic and life-safety conditions. Annual audits have found that we have met all requirements and are in excellent financial standing with all facilities programs. Voting Yes on Prop A is a critical step in ensuring that our schools, our teachers and our children are safe. Please join us in supporting Proposition A. Mayor Gavin Newsom Joanne Hayes-White, San Francisco Fire Chief* San Francisco Board of Education San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Parents for Public Schools For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Rebuttal to Arguments For SEND A MESSAGE: "IMPROVE SAN FRANCISCO EDUCATION!": America's place in the world ahead will depend upon giving our children top quality educations. Our trade partners China and India are seriously outrunning the United States in minting engineers, scientists, businessmen, and computer programers. They and several other countries are also catching up with America in producing physcians, physicists, mathematicians, and scholars. The San Francisco Unified School District ("SFUSD") has "dumbed down" education. Reading and math test results are inadequate. The civics, history, and geography taught in "social studies" are a joke. We're iconoclasts: SFUSD teachers should be paid on merit and student educational test results... Heresy to the teachers' unions + but good for students and the American economy. 6th to 8th grade students should be learning civics and history reading. The Federalists Papers, the United States Constitution, Winston Churchill's History of World War II, Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Plutarch's Lives, Julius Caesar's Commentaries, Herodotus' Histories, etc. Younger students should be taught science, be able to read stock and bond tables, know the world map (in detail), learn the Earth's nations (populations, cities, etc.), and list the United States' Presidents (with years they served). Until SFUSD schools are improved, vote "NO"on Proposition A. Dr. Terence Faulkner, J.D. Past County Chairman* San Francisco Republican Party (Founded: January of 1856) Doo Sup Park Republican State Senate Nominee, 8th District (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties)* Stephanie Jeong Republican County Central Committee, 12th District* For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.

TOO MUCH BOARD OF EDUCATION STAFF AND TOO FEW TEACHERS ARE THE STORY OF THE BLOATED SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL BOARD: Over-payed Board of Education political appointees and Board executives who do little work of any value are the hallmarks of San Francisco's wasteful educational establishment. In part the plaything of the local Green Party, the San Francisco Board of Education is good at staging so-called "peace" teach-ins. The Board of Education also staged a year long political dispute over proposals to get rid of the City's junior ROTC program + Popular with the kids, but not "politically correct" by the standards of the Green Party and other local militants. San Francisco needs better educational test results, far less Board of Education staff and political appointees, and better teaching programs: Show a globe of the Earth to a San Francisco Board of Education student. Ask him to find China, India, Italy, Egypt, Canada, or even San Francisco on that globe. You will not like the results. Vote "NO" on this wasteful tax measure. Dr. Terence Faulkner, J.D. Chairman of Citizens Against Tax Waste Rebuttal to Arguments Against Proposition A is NOT a tax increase. Everyone's tax bill will remain the same and seniors over 65 can apply for an exemption. With the original Mello-Roos measure up for renewal this year, we need to be sure our schools stay earthquake and fire safe. Yearly audit reports have found the School District to be in excellent financial standing with all facilities programs. Proposition A will continue to keep San Francisco's 150 public school buildings safe from fires and earthquakes. Our children's safety comes first, and in these challenging economic times we need to be sure our schools are earthquake and fire safe. Proposition A does this by providing seismic strengthening, fire and life-safety, including fire alarm systems, fire sprinklers, and paths of exiting. Proposition A makes sure our children and teachers don't suffer even greater cuts at the expense of mandatory earthquake and fire safety work. The Mello-Ross Parcel Tax is money well spent. Since 1990, the Mello-Roos Parcel Tax has generated approximately $6.9 million dollars a year towards earthquake, fire and life safety in San Francisco's public school facilities and funds the salaries of employees who keep our schools safe. SFUSD spends less than most districts and other government entities on central administration (less than 4%). Help our schools, teachers and children by keeping our schools safe. Vote YES on PROP A. Mayor Gavin Newsom San Francisco Board of Education San Francisco Chamber of Commerce Parents for Public Schools San Francisco Fire Chief* Joanne Hayes-White For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.