First, the good news: to date, no signs promoting Measure I have
been posted on school fences.
First, the good news: to date, no signs promoting Measure I have been posted on school fences. No fliers or letters have been sent home with students. Altogether, Measure I is being promoted in a much more fair, seemly, sotto voce fashion, with lawn signs and phone banks, not with the nearly hysterical bandwagonning that characterized Measure D. So far, anyway.
Campaign style aside, Son of D – pardon me, I meant Measure I – closely resembles its failed predecessor, Measure D. Cosmetic changes have been made, which changes its proponents hope will render it more palatable to the public. Alas, the same philosophy inspires I as D.
The fatal flaw in philosophy may be found in the bond’s title: “Gilroy Area School Improvement Bond of 2002.” Measure I, like Measure D, makes the assumption that improving school facilities is both necessary and equivalent to improving schools.
I can’t speak for any other opponents of Measure I; we are far too disorganized to speak for each other. But for myself, I agree that Gilroy schools are in desperate need of improvement. I just don’t think that improving the facilities is going to improve the education.
Measure I complains that most of Gilroy’s schools are over 35 years old. Oh, my. My house is 67 years old. St. Mary’s is over a hundred. Aging buildings do not prevent a quality education.
The text of Measure I includes a huge list of specific repairs, renovations, upgrades, and maintenance, all designed to bring existing schools up to district standards. I don’t happen to agree that meeting district facilities standards is necessary (or sufficient) to a good education.
Take air conditioning, for example. GUSD has just abolished year-round schools. Do we really need air conditioning for two weeks in June and two in September? My house lacks air conditioning. My kids do their math regardless.
Granted, repairs and maintenance should be accomplished in a timely manner. They must also be accomplished within existing budget, as every homeowner in Gilroy knows. The question, unanswered since March, remains: why has GUSD not kept up with necessary maintenance?
The text of Measure I includes a partial new high school, an apparent response to those voters who indicated that they did not vote for Measure D because “We need a new high school.” Measure I would purchase land, install utilities, extend the road, and build the administration buildings and half the necessary classrooms.
But why can not the construction of a new high school be paid for with our sky-high developer impact fees? Give up? Perhaps it’s because about 75 percent of our impact fees go to pay interest on the bonds of bygone years? And what would you like to bet that brainstorming has already begun on the Grandson of Measure D, a bond to be approved in five or 10 years to pay for the completion of our new high school? Ever hear of garden path marketing?
Measure I includes several minor irritations, including the idea of rebuilding Eliot School as a two-story building while simultaneously complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. What will that entail, elevators in every building? And then there’s the whole portable shuffle: buy ’em here, replace ’em there. Haven’t we figured out yet that portables don’t wear well?
So sorry, but I have much better things to do with my $57 per $100,000 of assessed value, per year for the next 25 years, than give it to the school district. I hope that every voter in the city will dig out his property tax assessment before November 5th, perform the multiplication, and calculate exactly how much money he will be forking over to the district if Measure I passes. I hope every renter realizes that his rent will go up a commensurate amount.
I also hope that every voter who votes in favor of Measure I will remember how much he is willing to spend, and if Measure I fails, will toddle down to the district office and write them a check for the amount. If enough of them kick in, we might be able to make some of those repairs, without paying interest on them for the next quarter century.
Cynthia Anne Walker is a homeschooling mother of three and a former engineer. She is a published independent author. Her column is published in The Dispatch every Friday.
