League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Alameda County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Measure H Facilities Safety and Maintenance Berkeley Unified School District 2/3 Approval Required Pass: 33946 / 80.88% Yes votes ...... 8027 / 19.12% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure H

Arguments Against Measure H

Measure H insures that Berkeley will continue to maintain its investment in quality school facilities. Measure H funds all of the maintenance on school buildings, landscaping and grounds. In 2000, Berkeley passed a modest special tax to provide designated funding to maintain the enormous investment the community has in school buildings. This is a renewal of that tax. Measure H is not a new tax. It is not a tax increase. Measure H simply renews an existing special school tax (Measure BB) at the existing tax rate for an additional ten years. Measure H funds cannot be used for any other purpose. Measure H limits the specific use of all funds: "exclusively to provide grounds operations and essential maintenance of District buildings and grounds, thereby protecting the health, safety and security of children and staff and creating an environment that supports student and staff success." Measure H does not pay for custodial services. The State cannot take these funds. The school buildings are dependent on these funds to provide safe and sound places for children to learn. Over 10,000 students, teachers, and staff use these buildings every school day. Other districts have cut maintenance due to decreased state funding, and then watched the cost to repair buildings skyrocket after years of neglect. Instead, Berkeley taxpayers have prudently chosen to maintain their buildings. Measure H includes independent audits and a citizen's oversight committee. Measure H is endorsed by all School Board members, the Mayor, all City Council members, State Senator Loni Hancock, Assembly Member Nancy Skinner, Supervisor Keith Carson, the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, the League of Women Voters, the Berkeley Association of Realtors, and community members throughout Berkeley. Please join us - Vote Yes on Measures H and I to protect Berkeley's investment in its schools. BerkeleySchools2010.com s/Loni Hancock State Senator s/Karen Hemphill School Board President s/Sherry Smith, individually and on behalf of President, League of Women Voters of Berkeley, Albany & Emeryville s/Cheryl Chinn Former School Principal s/Shirley Dean Former Mayor Rebuttal to Arguments For VOTE NO ON MEASURE H The argument in favor of Measure H is non-existent. It says to continue a tax that was approved 10 years ago. That's not a reason! The measure itself has no specificity. Ten years ago the school facilities were deteriorating, requiring repairs and more maintenance. After spending $340 million building new school facilities and administrative offices, the maintenance and repairs should go down, compared with what older, aging buildings require. The District is asking for $200+ million for more new buildings in Measure I. Note that $14 million of Measure I is also maintenance, plus Measure H is maintenance: how are they doing their accounting? A recent request to the District asking for more detail on fund usage was refused. It is estimated by people who should know that one-third to one-half of the student population actually lives outside the district. This means hundreds of millions of dollars taken from Berkeleyans in taxes are being spent on non-Berkeley students! Existing funds could go so much farther on educating Berkeley's own children instead of everyone else's, if the District would just get its act together. A District that shows bad faith and lack of transparency does not deserve our support. VOTE NO ON MEASURE H + SEND A MESSAGE THAT MORE MONEY WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEMS UNLESS THE DISTRICT CHANGES ITS WAYS. s/Julie Dickinson Individually and On Behalf, Secretary, Council of Neighborhood Associations s/Barbara Gilbert On Behalf of, Vice-President North East Berkeley Association (NEBA) s/Cole Smith On Behalf of, Treasurer, Berkeleyans Against Soaring Taxes! (BASTA!) s/Viki Tamaradze Individually and on Behalf of, Secretary and Treasurer, Berkeley Can Do Better (BCDB) s/Frankie L. Fraser Past HAC Commissioner, Past Pres. San Pablo PK. Neig. Council (SPNC)

VOTE NO ON MEASURE H THIS BALLOT MEASURE DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY SPECIFICITY AS TO HOW THE FIFTY MILLION OF FUNDS WILL BE EXPENDED. THE DISTRICT ALREADY HAS MAINTENANCE FUNDS AND MANY BRAND NEW BUILDINGS FROM PREVIOUS BOND MEASURES. NEW BUILDINGS SHOULD REQUIRE LESS MAINTENANCE THAN THE BUILDINGS THEY REPLACED.. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MAINTENANCE FUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN USED TO MAINTAIN THE OLDER BUILDINGS? THIS IS NOT A 5 MILLION DOLLAR MEASURE. IT IS A FIFTY MILLION DOLLAR MEASURE OVER TEN YEARS. EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS ARE NOT RESTRICTED TO MAINTENANCE. TAXES ON BERKELEY HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESS ARE ALREADY HIGH. HOW MANY EMPTY STORES AND FORECLOSED HOUSES AND EMPTY APARTMENT BUILDINGS DO WE NEED? VOTE NO ON MEASURE H s/Julie Dickinson Individually and On Behalf, Secretary, Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) s/George S. Oram Founder of Elmwood Realty and Berkeley Can Do Better (BCDB) and Parent of BUSD Students s/Arthur Goldberg Former Chair, Berkeley Citizen Budget Review Com- , Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) s/Greg Harper Attorney, Former Chair Housing Advisory Commission, Treasurer, Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA) s/William D. Hermann Professor of Economics North East Berkeley Association (NEBA) Board Member Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure H renews an existing tax at the same rate. It is not a tax increase. The argument against Measure H is erroneous. Measure H's funds are specifically limited: "exclusively to provide grounds operations and essential maintenance of District buildings and grounds ...." Measure H funds all of the maintenance on school buildings, landscaping and grounds. If Measure H fails, millions of dollars will be taken from schools and classrooms to maintain buildings. Layoffs of both teachers and maintenance workers would occur. The school district has sustained three straight years of budget reductions due to decreased state funding, cutting about $14 million over three years out of a $90 million budget. An additional $5 million annual reduction would be devastating to our children. Measure H funds are used wisely - a citizen's oversight committee monitors expenses. Independent audits ensure the money is spent as approved by the voters. There is no better investment than making sure our children receive a quality education--the foundation of quality education is safe, sound schools. Measure H is endorsed throughout Berkeley: the Berkeley Association of Realtors, the League of Women Voters (Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville), the Berkeley Federation of Teachers, Mayor Tom Bates and former Mayor Shirley Dean, City Auditor Ann Marie Hogan, all School Board members, all City Council members, State Senator Loni Hancock, Assembly Member Nancy Skinner, Supervisor Keith Carson, and Community members throughout Berkeley. Vote Yes on Measures H & I to protect Berkeley's investment in its schools. BekeleySchools2010.com s/Barry Fike Past President, Berkeley Federation of Teachers s/Sheila Jordan Superintendent, Alameda County Schools s/Joaquin Rivera Trustee, Alameda County Board of Education s/Jennifer Burroughs Individually and on behalf of Co-President, BHS Development Group s/Dan Lindheim BUSD Audit Committee Member