Measure A passing

With all 37 precincts reporting, more than 68 percent of  voters said "yes" to Measure A, a $112-per-parcel tax to help high schools in the state-budget-stricken Acalanes Union High School District save teachers' jobs and core academic and elective programs.

A few hours after polls closed, the Contra Costa County Elections office reports that 68.5 percent of voters said yes in the special mail-in ballot. The measure needs a two-thirds majority to pass.

County election officials told the Contra Costa Times that ballots counted as of 8 p.m. Tuesday did not reflect ballots that had been delivered to the office Tuesday. Elections officials said they would begin counting uncounted ballots Wedesday and come up with the final tally Friday.

Measure A would bring in to the school district about $3.8 million a year over the next five years. The district is facing a $4.8 million shortfall. The district already has a $189 parcel tax that voters decided to extend indefinitely in November. 

NOTE: Well, it looks like my Crazy poll, which you can still see at left, was pretty close and a pretty good crystal ball. When I finally, with the help of a reader, did the calculations correct, my poll said that Measure A would pass with 69.5 percent of the vote.  That's just a point off what the yes vote was, calculated by the county Elections Department.

Hey, maybe Measure A will pass, there is still time to vote, and WCI's PTA endorses it

UPDATE: Maybe no surprise, but the Walnut Creek Intermediate PTA has endorsed Measure A, the $112-per-parcel tax to help fund programs in the Acalanes Union High School District. 


The PTA also says that people who live within the Acalanes Union High School District  can still  vote, even if they didn't get their mail-in ballot mailed in already. The PTA says you can: 

• Deliver your vote to the Contra Costa County Elections Office in Martinez (555 Escobar Street) today or tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• On Tuesday, May 4, take your "yes" ote to the drop box at the Lafayette United Methodist Church (955 Moraga Road, Lafayette) from 1-8:00 p.m.

Contrary to what I reported Saturday, according to my very own Crazy poll, Measure A, the $112-per-parcel tax to help fund programs in the Acalanes Union HIgh School District, could actually pass. 

ORIGINAL POST:

As I said, this poll (at top left) may not be scientific, but--any surprise here?--I did my figuring wrong, including in my calculations those who did not vote. Duh. A reader pointed out this error. 

As the reader said. "AKA SM actually if your poll where correct it would pass. Your poll showed 73 yes and 32 no. As with any vote the ones who elect not to vote will not be counted. Thus the yes reached 69.5% in your poll which is more than the required 66.6%."

So, we'll see what happens. The district hopes Measure A will pass so that it can raise an additional $3.8 million a year to offset an $8 million shortfall.

If this Crazy poll is accurate, Measure A won't pass

Yes, I know, it's fair to ask how scientific this poll is. No, it's not Gallup.


But if this poll (at left) has any crystal ball abilities, the $112-per-parcel tax for the Acalanes Union High School District won't pass--by just a couple percentage points. The majority of the 113 readers voting in this Crazy poll said "yes," but this parcel tax, like any other, needs to pass by a two-thirds majority. Sixty-four percent said yes, just not enough for the district to raise an additional $3.8 million a year to offset an $8 million shortfall. Since this is a mail-in ballot, it is likely that many people have already cast their ballots. 


The possibility this measure won't pass would be good news to at least one reader, who wrote on April 26:

"The average homeowner cannot bailout all services in our community - and that includes schools. There will be reduced everything, city, county, state. We must accept these facts and adjust to a different way of life as we know it.

More money by way of parcel tax will not solve underlying problems with administration and other funding deficits. Homeowners cannot carry this burden. It isn't practical or sustainable. But is the average citizen even wise enough to understand that?"

This tax would last for five years, and would supplement the district's existing parcel tax which is $189 per year. Residents who live in the Walnut Creek School District also pay an annual $82-per-parcel tax. 

The district says it will likely have to cut 50 teaching positions if Measure A doesn't pass. It will also have to eliminate science, foreign language, social studies, arts and math classes. Arts and other electives, including newspaper classes, could also go. 


The elimination of classes is worrisome to this Las Lomas High junior, who urged voters to say yes. 

"The  funding that this parcel tax is essential to my education. I am a junior now and almost every class I have sighned up for next year is on the chopping block. If I cannot take the advanced AP classes I need to be competative in my college applications next year I run the risk of not getting into my top pick colleges. We kids don't have the ability to vote yet so we have to ask you all to advocate for us.

One of the first comments on here ask who paid for phone banking and the mailers? Well, volunteers used their own personal cell phones for phone banking and like any other campaign the Measure A campaign was privately funded, so the campaign paid for all the reminders in the mail. I suppose this message is a little late, but if you haven't yet sent in your ballot think about it and think about saying yes. Thanks!"

Yes or no: Time to mail in your ballot on Acalanes' "emergency" Measure A parcel tax ballot

Voters who live in the Acalanes Union High School District must get their Measure A parcel tax ballots mailed in by next Tuesday.  This is a mail-in ballot only, and the measure must receive a two-thirds majority to pass.

The district says it must cut its budget by $8 million. At risk are 50 teaching positions and science, foreign language, English, social studies, arts and math classes--unless this five-year $112-per-parcel tax passes. The district hopes to raise an additional $3.9 million with this funding. The district's existing parcel tax is $189 a year, so this $112 would be in addition to that. However, Measure A sunsets in five years. Residents who live in the Walnut Creek School District also pay an annual $82-per-parcel tax.

More than a loss of programs and classes is at risk, says John Stockton, the Acalanes superintendent. In a recent e-mail notice, he said that the district will also lose many dynamic new teachers and an environment that nurtures the professional growth of teachers and quality education for students.

"There is a great synergy attained at a school through the mixing of veteran and junior teachers," he writes. "The positive attributes of teachers with varying levels of experience continually refresh a school's environment. ... The professional cycle of learning now present in the Acalanes Union High School District is in great part responsible for the tremendous social and academic development of our students...."

Big student rally and performances in Lafayette Sunday to protect arts and elective programs in Walnut Creek and Lamorinda high schools

My sixth-grade son recently said he was looking forward to going to school at Las Lomas, because he had heard there would be a creative writing class there. But that class might not be there when he gets to Las Lomas. It might not be there next year. The teacher says the class will get cut if the Measure A parcel tax does not pass.

Measure A is an emergency $112-per-parcel tax for property owners in the Acalanes Union High School District, which includes Las Lomas High in Walnut Creek. The district has had to cut its budget by $8 million over the past three years and is looking to eliminate more than 50 teaching positions. Those cuts will mean the loss of science, foreign language, English, social studies, arts and mathematics classes. They could also mean the loss of seventh period. The district has already decided to close Del Oro, its well-regarded alternative high schol.

Measure A, if approved via a mail-in ballot due May 4, will bring in about $4 million to the district each year.  This parcel tax would sunset in five years and be paid in addition to the current $189 parcel tax, which voters extended indefinitely in November.

Students from throughout the district performed music, drama skits, and public speaking at a rally in Lafayette's Downtown Plaza. One of those students was Emily Shearer, a senior at Acalanes High who is a member of the school's award-winning Mock Trial team. She spoke about how participating in mock trial, the environmental club, and Science Bowl have taught her team work, critical thinking, public speaking, and leadership.She adds  her accomplishments in these extracurricular programs gave her an edge when she applied for college--her experiences won her admittance to top universities.

John Stockton, in an e-mail to parents, wrote about the value of performing arts classes. He said they are often taken for granted but that they provide numerous benefits to students:

--Student overall academic achievement improves by participation in performing arts programs.

--Dedicated adult role models and peer support provide a positive emotional growth environment for students.

--Time management and teamwork qualities are promoted and enhance the development of the total student.

--Studies show a correlation between development of artistic skills and success in core academic areas such as math.

As the advanced boys and girls choral groups from Campolindo High school performaned Glee TV show-quality numbers, I thought of what my son and other kids would lose if they couldn't do this sort of music class or drama or studio art.

I also thought of what he would get out of a creative writing class that he wouldn't get out of a regular English class. Not surprisingly, I'm a fan of creative writing classes, and I think they are helpful to avowed non-writers, people who don't see themselves as aspiring Stephen Kings or Sylvia Plaths. The thing is, even non-writers, willl have to be able to write at various points in their lives--college essays, business memos and proposals where they have to communicate their ideas.

The teacher told me how her creative writing class allows students to express themselves in ways they don't get to do in a regular English class, where they are usually locked into writing persuasive essays in that tightly controlled structure.In creative writing, these students get to express themselves, through stories, poems, and free writing.

I've seen how this kind of self-expression can free up kids--and adults--to play, experiment, and find their own voice. It can help people become comfortable with writing, and the more people become comfortable with writing, and free up their own voice, the easier it becomes for them to articulate their ideas.

Students rally to save arts, electives and other programs in our schools

State budget cuts are threatening to cut English, science, foreign language, social studies, mathematics and arts classes in the Acalanes Union High School District. The elective programs at risk are studio art, academic decathlon, band, choral music, drama, digital design, mock trial, public speaking, student newspapers.

State budget cuts are also threatening fourth and fifth grade instrumental music programs in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

To save these programs, Acalanes district students will be holding a rally in downtown Lafayette Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. They are asking property owners who reside within the district’s boundaries to support the $112-per parcel Measure A tax. For more information about the rally, or Measure A, check out the About Measure A website. 

Join us at this one of a kind event, brought to you by students, teachers, administrators, and parents working together to celebrate our excellent schools. Come support all students – your kids, friends, and neighbors – and the extraordinary programs currently at risk. Bring the whole family!

Meanwhile, the Mt. Diablo Music Education Foundation is offering you the chance to win a cruise for four to Vancouver, or a five-day, four-night vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida.  

A $10 donation buys you won chance to win one of these prizes. A $20 donation buys you three chances to win. And so on… The seven-night Disney cruise to Florida is valued at $9,000. Make your donations now, and find out on May 15, during a drawing at the MDMEF Musical Festival at Sleep Train Pavilion whether you and your family won. To donate, go to the foundation's website. 

Acalanes district high schools will need to eliminate seventh period unless an emergency parcel tax passes in May

With the Acalanes Union High School District cutting $4.8 million from its 2010-11 school year budget, laying off 57 teachers,  and losing about $254 per student, the district will no longer be offering students a seven-period day. This is according to Superintendent John Stockton, in an e-mail message he sent out Wednesday.

He said these cuts will be necessary unless voters in the district pass Measure A, "the Emergency Education Act of 2010." It is a $112-per parcel tax that will last five years. This parcel tax would be levied in addition to the $189 parcel tax, which voters extended indefinitely in November. The Acalanes district  includes Walnut Creek's Las Lomas High and Lafayette's Acalanes High. 

Stockton warns that these cuts will hurt students in the district, making it possible that they will lose their "competitive edge when applying for college, university and technical schools."

"While some people may see this as a return to a basic education structure of several decades past, many view this as the decimation of one of the most respected high school districts in the nation," he says.

He says that the district will receive less funding next year by the state than it did five years ago. "During the same period, expenses and state mandates have increased. ... Although it is natural for most of us to have cherished memories of our high school years, it is clear that a 20th century education does not meet today's needs. The mastery of complex academic standards with fewer and fewer resources is simply not possible."

RIP, I guess: Citizens for Walnut Creek, the town's notable slow-growth advocates

Citizens for a Better Walnut Creek was a political group that, in the 1980s helped establish building heights limits in Walnut Creek. It also created the group, Residents and Advocates for More Parking and Reduced Traffic (RAMPART), that unsuccessfully tried to block the recent proposed Neiman Marcus department store in Broadway Plaza.

The Contra Costa Times reports that the group, “best known for spurring slow growth measures in the 1980s and 1990s, has officially closed its political campaign account with Walnut Creek — and, by extension, with the state.”

The group has told the Times that is no longer has dues-paying members but that the “core group is still there” and is ready to “mobilize if needed.” This is according to co-founder Ed Skoog, also a former mayor.

For example, the group had some money “sitting there for a long time” and decided to donate $600 to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum.

Citizens for a Better Walnut Creek, formed in 1984, is “perhaps best known for bringing about Measure A in 1985,” the Times Elisabeth Nardi reports. “Measure A placed limits on building heights in Walnut Creek, basically freezing heights at then-existing levels.”

The Times adds:

While Citizens for a Better Walnut Creek have legally disbanded, don't count them out. "We are still alive," said Skoog. "We are not going gung-ho on anything in particular right now, but as issues come, you will see our flag flying."