The $96 parcel tax passed by local voters is going to be coming up for renewal in 2014. Back in 2009, the School Board-appointed Parcel Tax Committee presented voters with a purposely vague, non-prioritized list suggesting where the funds were going to be spent. Yet, after its passage, the community found out that 82 percent ($920K) of the $1.12M funding raised was going to pay for teacher salaries in the Advanced Math & Science programs. Little was going to impact the general student population, if any. Surprisingly, the elementary schools’ libraries, one of the top priorities on a previous community survey, only received $8,525, a mere three-quarters of one percent of the $1.12M.
And Where It Stops…
Although the $920K was legally accounted for by the oversight committee, it left open a still nagging question: How was the $920K – already budgeted to fund the Math and Science teaching positions and displaced by the parcel tax money – actually spent? The answer never was made clear.
Nobody Knows
The result of the behind-the-scenes reshuffling and dealing of funds from the bottom of the deck is that this $920K of the $1.12M approved by the voters probably ended up somewhere in the General Fund so it could be spent almost anywhere, on anything without having to meet the ballot requirements.
Flim-Flam
It almost seems as if $920K of Measure EE funds were “laundered” through the Advanced Math and Science programs so it could be spent elsewhere, after being “washed clean” of its ballot restrictions. This updated, more sophisticated “money laundering” scheme reminds me of the old shell game played by cagey con artists in olden days.
Much-Needed Dose of Transparency
It is hoped that the next time the parcel tax comes up for a vote in 2014, the community will demand a more thorough, upfront and transparent view from the Parcel Tax Committee about where the funds, if approved, would be ultimately spent.
Personally, I would like to see the funds raised by extending the parcel tax spent on every student in the District by re-invigorating a District-wide music program for all K-12 students. Every District student would be engaged every school year in music throughout his education – either by learning to play an instrument(s) or by singing in a choir. This would enrich each student’s life and address the Whole Child and not in just putting an emphasis on passing the annual state standardized testing.
Isn’t it about time that we gave our children a K-12 music program that is, once again, an integral part of our local Arts for All core curriculum?
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
