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

Vote 'yes' on Measure D

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For the third time in a little more than a year, the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District is seeking to pass a bond measure to improve and update outdated facilities. And for a third time, the Town Crier is supporting the measure.

Measure D, the new proposal before the voters Tuesday, is the result of efforts from a school district that has listened.

When residents opposed to the measure said the district wasn't specific enough in its ballot language, officials put the entire resolution on the June 6 ballot. When the district was accused of not communicating enough, officials reached out to the opposition, formed a new committee to get more input from residents and held public meetings every step of the way. When the opposition said the bond measure costs too much, the district looked at every possible option for trimming the price while keeping its overall plan. Measure D, at $58 million, is $10.5 million less than last year's initiatives.

The cost is less, the ballot language is more, but the focus is still the same: better facilities at Los Altos and Mountain View high schools for better education.

The measure, which costs homeowners about $25 annually per $100,000 assessed valuation, addresses repairs and renovations absolutely vital to the schools: new, updated heating and electrical systems; updated science and computer labs; repairs to damaged floors and ceilings; construction of new classrooms to accommodate projected growth; expansion of libraries; replacement of leaky roofs and repairs to make existing buildings earthquake safe.

It's no secret that the dilapidated facilities, which go back 30-40 years, are woefully outdated and are not equipped to usher students into the high-tech era. Officials cite, as an example, one student who scored a perfect 1,600 on a Standard Achievement Test, yet placed 11th at a science lab competition because he had no updated lab resources to work with at Los Altos High School.

The district, which has enjoyed an outstanding reputation for academic achievement in years' past, stands to compromise its educational standards if nothing is done about renovating facilities. It also stands to reason that the district will have a hard time recruiting top-notch teachers. That's bad news, not only for students, but for surrounding residents who enjoy high property values because of the schools.

It's especially disheartening to know that students in the middle of Silicon Valley are working with equipment that's 40 years old. You can change that when you go to the polls Tuesday. The Town Crier urges a "yes" vote on Measure D.