League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Contra Costa County, CA June 5, 2012 Election
	Measure K Parcel Tax West Contra Costa Unified School District 2/3 Approval Required Fail: 23928 / 65.52% Yes votes ...... 12594 / 34.48% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure K

Arguments Against Measure K

Protect Our School; Support Our Students, Yes on K Vote YES on Measure K and give our schools local funding the State can never take away. Spending on education gets slashed every year by state government. We can't rely on Sacramento politicians to adequately fund our schools. Recent drastic cuts have forced the district to lay off teachers, threatened class size-reduction plans, and hurt our ability to deliver core academics our students need--reading, writing, math, and science. This measure guarantees a baseline of local revenue for our community schools. Regardless of the political and economic instability in our state capital, the funds generated from Measure K will stay in the community. By law, all the money must remain here to fund local schools. Measure K will give us the local dollars we need to prepare our students for college by teaching core academics and helping them prepare for the 21 century workforce by providing technology instruction, vocational education and job-training programs. Our after-school programs help keep students away from gangs and drugs. Measure K will allow the school district to: Maintain core academic programs of reading, writing, mathematics, and science; Attract and retain well-trained teachers; Support science labs and other teaching tools; and Maintain class-size reductions. Without this funding, class sizes could go to 30-38 students per class. A citizen oversight committee will conduct independent audits and ensure that all Measure K funding is well managed. Seniors are exempt from Measure K. No money from this measure will ever be used for administrator salaries. Please join community leaders in Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, El Sobrante, El Cerrito, Kensington, and San Pablo in voting YES on Measure K and provide the financial stability our schools need. For more information about Measure K go to http://www.ProtectWestCountySchools.com. Edward M. Downer IIII, Chairman Emeritus Jacqueline Rushing, Founder & CEO Young Scholars Program Eddie Russell, Sergeant, Richmond Police Dept. Carol Butcher, Principal - Stewart K-8 Janet Abelson, Council Member - City of El Cerrito Rebuttal to Arguments For The proponents state, "A citizen oversight committee will conduct independent audits and ensure that all Measure K funding is well managed." This is incorrect. The Community Budget Advisory Committee, charged to provide oversight for this measure, has no staff or funds to conduct an independent audit. This committee has never conducted an independent audit of parcel tax expenditures. The prior November 2008 parcel tax measure provided for the Community Budget Advisory Committee to provide oversight. This committee did not amend their charter to perform this role until July 2011, over 2 1/2 years after this measure passed! There is no effective oversight of these expenditures by an independent citizens' oversight committee. The Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee, charged to provide citizens' oversight to the District's $1,300,000,000 bond construction program, is a dysfunctional, ineffective committee. The School Board recently rejected the legally required taxpayer's representative to this committee. Measure K increases your parcel tax by almost one--half (42%). Do you think that the expenditure of your tax dollars by WCCUSD have effective citizens' oversight? You decide. Then vote NO on Measure K Anton Jungherr Former Audit Subcommittee Co-Chair, WCCUSD Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE K WCCUSD has been double-dipping into your wallets for years and again they want more. In addition to State and Federal funds, the West Contra Costa Unified School District obtains more funding from your pockets. Look at your 'Secured Property Tax Bill" - what you probably call your "property taxes" - WCCUSD Bonds from 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2010, MRAD (termed "WCCUSD assessment") and (2008) Parcel Tax. You will still be seeing most of these through the year 2027 and beyond. Some of your money is still being paid out for repayment of bailout funds from the State from the 1990's. In 2004, voters approved a 5-year parcel tax and in 2008 voters extended it to 2014. In 1994, voters approved the MRAD for a 5 year period but it continues today, more than 11 years after the stated sunset, solely by approval of the School Board. California is still in fiscal crisis. Governmental agencies are vying for funding for water, streets, bridges, sewage, lighting, police and fire, and such. Education takes the lion's share of allocations and the WCCUSD appetite is voracious. Not only this election, but many to come, you will decide how much more and where your money will be spent. Here's something new to consider. Contrary to popular belief, and according to California's Franchise Tax Board, parcel tax payments are not deductible against federal and state income taxes. The State has announced that beginning in 2012, they will enforce that non-deductibility. Do you think your WCCUSD funds are getting to the classroom? Are the students, "the kids", getting a quality education or are we getting one of the poorest scoring districts for the largest dollar amounts? You decide. Then vote NO on Measure K. Susan L. Pricco, Homeowner

WCCUSD has been double-dipping into your wallets for years and again they want more. In addition to State and Federal funds, the West Contra Costa Unified School District obtains more funding from your pockets. Look at your 'Secured Property Tax Bill" - what you probably call your "property taxes" - WCCUSD Bonds from 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2010, MRAD (termed "WCCUSD assessment") and (2008) Parcel Tax. You will still be seeing most of these through the year 2027 and beyond. Some of your money is still being paid out for repayment of bailout funds from the State from the 1990's. In 2004, voters approved a 5-year parcel tax and in 2008 voters extended it to 2014. In 1994, voters approved the MRAD for a 5 year period but it continues today, more than 11 years after the stated sunset, solely by approval of the School Board. California is still in fiscal crisis. Governmental agencies are vying for funding for water, streets, bridges, sewage, lighting, police and fire, and such. Education takes the lion's share of allocations and the WCCUSD appetite is voracious. Not only this election, but many to come, you will decide how much more and where your money will be spent. Here's something new to consider. Contrary to popular belief, and according to California's Franchise Tax Board, parcel tax payments are not deductible against federal and state income taxes. The State has announced that beginning in 2012, they will enforce that non-deductibility. Do you think your WCCUSD funds are getting to the classroom? Are the students, "the kids", getting a quality education or are we getting one of the poorest scoring districts for the largest dollar amounts? You decide. Then vote NO on Measure K. Susan L. Pricco, Homeowner Rebuttal to Arguments Against Renew Measure K, Protect the Quality of Our Local Schools Vote Yes on Measure K to protect: Core academics including math, science, reading and writing; Attracting and retaining quality teachers; Preventing class size increases. Measure K renews local educational funding that voters already approved twice (in 2004 and 2008). It maintains the financial stability our students deserve, regardless of the State's instability. In May 2012, WCCUSD will complete payment on all debts and loans from the 1991 fiscal crisis, a twenty-year effort of budget-cutting and strong financial management.Yet, this effort to regain stability is threatened once again by current State budget woes. The state's support for public education has been volatile and inconsistent. They are slashing billions of dollars from public school budgets with no end in sight. Renewing our local parcel tax school funding program will ensure that our students have a local safety net. And, Measure K ensures accountability to the taxpayers: First, all Measure K funding is required to stay in our community to pay for our local schools and the state, by law, can never take it away. Second, no money will go toward administrators' salaries. Third, all Measure K money will be managed and accounted for by a citizens' oversight committee which will conduct annual audits. Please join parents, teachers, business leaders, and labor by voting Yes on K so that our children can have the good schools they need to thrive and succeed. Greg Santiago Principal Hanna Ranch Eric Zell, Businessperson/Director, West Contra Costa Healthcare District Sylvia J. Greenwood, Principal DeJean Middle Chuck Toombs, President, Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District Claudia Velez, Teacher Olinda Elementary