Information on the Proposed Parcel Tax

I attended the workshop on Tuesday night hosted by the School Board. We reviewed a power point presentation by True North Research that basically presumed that while La Canadans would be on board for a $150 parcel tax for up to 4 years (a total of $600), the proposed $295 per year may not pass. One particularly disturbing factoid was that while San Marino already pays $295 per parcel and is looking at increasing the amount by $795 for 6 years, we don't really care what our neighbors are doing. There is this great skit on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update called "Oh Really?" that I thought of throughout this meeting. So to the fact that we don't care what our neighbors are doing..."oh really?" The fact that La Canada schools got edged out of the top 3 districts in the state doesn't bother us. Oh really? San Marino inventory remains historically low at only 32 active listings, while La Canada has 93 active listings. But that doesn't bother us. Oh really? San Marino sales prices have seen only a 10% drop, while La Canada is down an average of 20%. But lets not compare...oh really?

Instead of looking at the differences, lets look at the similarities. Both cities are beautiful with a  strong sense of community and a high quality of life. Both have excellent school districts, yet San Marino High is number 1 in the state. We need to realize that our greatest asset in La Canada is our school district. Whether you have school-age children (yes, I do) or not, the schools are what keep housing values up in the city. If we neglect the schools and trip over a dollar to save a dime, we will all pay with the equity in our homes. As an example: we purchased in 2006. A recent appraisal came in $500,000 lower, so would we pay $295 per year slow down the decline? I need about 1 second to think that over. In a nutshell, even if you don't utilize the schools here, you need them.

The most recent rumors are that the state is going to cut over $8 billion in educational spending from the budget. That could be catastrophic to La Canada schools and as a community, we need to come together and support the higher parcel tax. Oh really? Yes!

Comments

[brad kessell]

nice!

love your blog.

[Gillan]

Thank you for reading the blog! Please get the word about about the parcel tax!

[Thomas]

I am a resident with children in La Canada schools. While I am concerned about budget cuts and their impact on education, I do not share the apocalyptic scenarios put forth by fear-mongers using the economic climate as a reason to gouge the taxpayer.

I for one, will vote no on any parcel tax:

1. Not everyone in La Canada is wealthy.

My family is blessed beyond measure. However, we live within a budget and within our means. Unfortunately, be it the schools, educational foundation, sewers, community centers or some other funding need of the day, the constant nickle-and-diming of the residents in La Canada is absurd. Half of my children's take-home packet is crammed with fund raisers and such items. I'm glad there are those in the community who can cut checks at will for every whim, some of us cannot.

2. Sewers.

This is a whole other issue of the absurdity of La Canada's local government. In short, when researching our home in La Canada the estimated sewer cost was $15,000. Based upon information from the city it is over $60,000. While I hope any assessment vote fails, I need to save as if it will.

3. Jobs

Right now my wife and I are blessed with good jobs. However, like most organizations we've been preparing for the worst. No raises, cuts, the works.

4. Accountability

Many of us are being asked to sacrifice during this economic slowdown. Our schools should do likewise. I expect my children to be taught the basics to eventually prepare them for college. Much of what I see in our schools is superfluous even in a good economy.

Some suggestions:

~ For such a small school system there seems to be quite a number of staff at the board level. Do we need so many?

~ Many of us outside government are going without raises for the next year or two. Our schools should be no different.

~ Most of us do not enjoy fully-funded pensions and post-retirement benefits such as teachers and other staff, perhaps this is a perk which needs to be addressed.

~ The Educational Foundation recently championed that "once a week Spanish" was a big priority. Really? Please.

~ Our schools place much emphasis on the arts and drama. Perhaps more of the funding should be placed on the parents of children who want to take part in non-essential activities.

Finally, the economic argument that real estate prices are linked to schools is specious. Yes, good schools and home values are linked, but many other factors come in to play. As one who is familiar with San Marino, much real estate appreciation has come from recent influxes of wealthy Chinese immigrants, paying top-dollar (and cash) for properties close to the Asian communities of the San Gabriel valley. La Canada's higher rate of depreciation is mostly due to the difficulty and expense of obtaining jumbo loans and other financing. Once credit becomes easier and cheaper to obtain for high-value homes, La Canada's property values will increase.

The longer I live in La Canada the more I see that there are "two" La Canada's. Those who champion schools-at-any-cost, support prohibitively expensive public works projects such as sewers and hideous Town Center developments, where money-isn't-an-object - and those who have budgets to balance and children to raise, and struggle in balancing the two.

[Gillan]

Thank you Thomas for sharing your point of view. While I do not share your opinion on the public schools or the exact reasons for the prices in La Canada and San Marino, I do take issue with the sewers (we live in the money pit south of Foothill) and Town Center.

[Gillan]

I did tour Valentine Elementary in an effort to educate myself on San Marino Schools. I was incredibly impressed with the campus, the quality of the computer lab and the staff. The pricipal (he is retiring this year-no replacement has been announced) was incredible-not only brilliant but approachable. The demographics of that school were no different than LCE. While I would argue that La Canada Schools are as impressive and offer a comprehensive education, our scores are lower. We can't argue with numbers.