Only 38 percent of respondents said they would vote
”
yes
”
for a parcel tax for Morgan Hill schools in a recent newspaper
poll.
Dear Editor,
Only 38 percent of respondents said they would vote “yes” for a parcel tax for Morgan Hill schools in a recent newspaper poll.
I think the poor response might be due to the broad nature of the question and to the lack of detail in how the money would be spent. An undefined parcel tax for “improved student achievement” is not the same as a parcel tax that would be spent on art and music enrichment, sports and theatre only.
If we are ever going to pass a parcel tax, we will have to narrowly define what we want the money to go toward and draft the proposal so that voters feel confident that the money will be used for true enrichment and not just more of what we have already. I believe voters are afraid of what they perceive to be the bottomless depths of education funding. They cannot see where it goes, they cannot see what is being accomplished. They are always told that more is needed. It is disheartening for voters to see this play out year after year.
Whether or not voters believe that education still has more “places to cut,” I am here to tell Morgan Hill residents from the horse’s mouth that Morgan Hill Unified does not have anymore places to cut. There is no “fat” at the district office level, and school sites are packing more students into every classroom, foregoing maintenance and slashing enrichment activities. We have almost no nurses, almost no counselors. What we do have, every single day, are our students – they show up at the doors, bright-eyed, eager and ready to learn.
I want our town to pass a parcel tax for those students, but it will be one of those great gifts that will surprisingly benefit ourselves as well. There is no mystery why Los Gatos and Palo Alto and Los Altos have high home resale values. Home buyers are attracted by a quality school system. People will pay a premium to live in a town with high quality schools – even in a serious recession.
I have long advocated and truly believe that we can pass a parcel tax in our hometown of Morgan Hill. If we start small (say, $50), define exactly what we will be paying for (art classes, music and band, theatre and sports or similar enrichments) and give voters the chance to cancel it if they don’t like what we are doing (five years to start), I think it can be done.
Julia Hover-Smoot, Morgan Hill, former Morgan Hill Unified School District board member, current Santa Clara County Office of Education board member
