Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Published on 05/29/1995 All articles from this issue

Letters of the Editor

printer friendly version

Measure D is a sound investment

The Los Altos Homeowners League endorses Measure D, to renew our Los Altos and Mountain View High Schools, for excellent reasons. The primary reason is that the present facilities are an embarrassment to the entire community. These facilities detract from the quality of education delivered.

Another reason, simply stated, is that this deal is too good to pass up. Measure D is more of a mortgage than a tax, and we homeowners know well the advantages of a mortgage. Build the facility on a least-cost schedule, obtain the advantages quickly, then pay off the loan using tax-free income. School bonds have double tax advantages. The interest rate is low because the bond holders are not taxed on the interest income.

In addition to the cost being low, we get a return on the investment. The largest factor in the price of houses in any area is the quality of the schools. Passing Measure D will increase the equity in our homes, the largest life-savings investment for most of us. If property values increase by only 1 percent when Measure D passes (a low estimate), the instant increase in our home equity will be at least 40 times the annual tax for Measure D (at the rate of $25 per $100,000 of assessed value). Yes on Measure D. Punch No. 6 on your voting card on June 6.

King Lear

Los Altos

Election an insult to our intelligence

On June 6, 1995, a "Special School Election" will occur in Santa Clara County. By my recollection, voters said NO to this proposition twice in less than 12 months.

More than one third of the voters have said NO. The clique that is behind selling $58 million in bonds bearing interest which could total another $50 million is now asking voters for the third time in 14 months to approve what remains a "blank check."

I don't need to be asked three times, in short order, what my opinion on an issue is. Please give me some credit for being able to think! Something has to be done to remedy a number of short comings in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, no doubt about it. But this election and the politics and special interests behind it are not the way to fix problems.

The last election loss produced a lot of news and editorial in the Town Crier as to how stunned proponents were to lose, how they had, perhaps, failed to adequately express the wisdom of their ideas, the frugality of their proposed spending plans and their gold-plated motivation which was limited only to serving our youth.

A promise was made: We Will Communicate Better.

I didn't hear anything more from the forces behind Measure D until I got the Sample Ballot in the mail. I don't call that delivering on a promise to communicate.

I am outraged that a special election was called and I encourage every voter to turn out and defeat Measure D on June 6.

Santa Clara Country spends $3 for every registered voter to hold a special election. That number applies to every registered voter, not just voters that turn out.

The bet by supporters of Measure D is that the voter turnout will be so small that they can, in effect, stuff the ballot box. Any election held for a single purpose when turnout is guaranteed to be light is, to my mind, a very suspect election.

The original D-Day occurred on the 6th of June, 1944. Voters, you have another D-Day on the 6th of June, 1995. Please, go to the polls. If you can't vote in person, please take a minute to fill out the absent voter ballot application. Whatever you do, Vote no on Measure D.

Bob Perdriau

Los Altos

Negative school flyer has no basis

Measure D deserves the support of all of us. Mario Ambra would like us to think otherwise. And his arguments may sound deceptively plausible. Don't be misled.

In a flyer found tossed into driveways throughout the district, Mario asks voters to consider some "11 objections" presented in the opposition's ballot statement. When we examine these, we find arguments manufactured from thin air: "A new statewide school voucher plan may pass in 1996 or thereafter; separate K-12 school districts may be formed in the future; the deductibility of state and local taxes may soon be repealed by Congress."

None of these statements is based on fact. All seem designed to scare us into doing nothing. Mario says we should oppose Measure D because "higher property taxes tend to lower property values." This argument is very perplexing. What Realtors tell us is that quality schools tend to increase property values.

In his final argument, Mario states, "It is wrong to repeatedly hold costly elections." You got it right that time, Mario! Not to mention the human costs: scores of volunteers who have donated hundreds of hours in three campaigns because they understand the need for safe, quality high school facilities.

As for his other arguments, Mario needs to be reminded that this new bond measure was written taking into account all those objections raised in last year's campaign. Because of the old "blank check" argument, the new measure contains a binding resolution that outlines renovations at the two high schools and calls for establishing an independent review committee to oversee the projects.

Monies from the sale of old Mountain View High School will be spent on furnishings and equipment ($3.5 million) and for ongoing maintenance to keep the new construction in good repair ($4.5 million).

Let's quit the nit-picking, Mario. Our high schools are falling apart. Let's get behind it and make sure it passes on June 6.

Kim and Jeff Farmer

Mountain View

Watch for 'hit piece' against Measure D

If the past is any guide to the present, there will shortly appear on our driveways a "hit piece" against Measure D from an anonymous group with an imposing name like "Community Forum" and an untraceable address, most likely a post office box. Before believing anything written on this paper, please consider the source. The same goes for any signs illegally posted on telephone poles or the back of Stop signs.

Scrutinize the sample ballot arguments against Measure D even more closely. Some of them have nothing what-so-ever to do with our high school facilities and the merits of the bond measure; several are misleading; and others are not true.

If you are on the fence about Measure D, please look at the community and school involvement and experience of the people who are endorsing Measure D. Compare that with those who wrote against it. Who do you think has the best interests of our students - present and future -and our communities at heart?

Carole Cameron

Mountain View

Board pleads case for Measure D

On Tuesday, our community has the opportunity to support quality education by voting for Measure D for the renovation of Los Altos High School and Mountain View High School.

Let us share with you a story that illustrates the need for investment in facilities. We recently learned that two of our students received perfect 1,600 scores on the SAT achievement test for college admission as juniors at Los Altos High School. A third student scored a near perfect 1,590, and two students at Mountain View High School scored 1,580.

Out of approximately 208,000 students who took the SAT this April, only 137 students nationwide achieved a perfect 1,600. Having two of these students, in addition to the three students with near perfect scores, from our local schools is quite an affirmation of our fine teaching staff. The Educational Testing Service, which oversees the SAT, indicated that they cannot remember the last time two perfect scores came from the same high school.

David-Patrick Marin, one of the students who scored 1,600, recently participated in the prestigious Bay Area Math and Science Alliance competition for advanced students from throughout Bay Area schools. While he did extremely well on most aspects, he fell short on the lab portion of the exam. David's father explained that students from neighboring school districts were at an advantage having had access to updated science labs and equipment.

The limitation of our high school facilities affects students like David-Patrick. We are getting more and more students returning from Ivy League colleges, private universities, and the UC and CSU systems describing how well prepared they are in terms of the fundamentals of reading and writing and composition, but how difficult it is to compete against students with access to the latest technology, computers and science equipment in their high schools.

The facilities master plan is not about pretty buildings, it is about having the infrastructure to support educational excellence. Our community has a lot to be proud of and our schools have served us well. We now need to come together as a community to make the needed investment to support our excellent academic program.

The passage of Measure D will not only provide for the updating of all basic systems including heat, electricity and plumbing, but it will provide modern science labs, expanded library programs, updated classrooms wired for technology, computer labs and an overall campus structure that will support educational excellence and ensure that every student reaches his or her potential.

As the Board of Trustees, we urge your support of Measure D. Our children deserve quality schools that will help ensure that when they graduate from high school they will face a brighter future.

Lynn Alvarado

Ann Baker

Rick Bell

Sue Graham

Judy Hannemann