Supporters Think of the Future In Urging Passage of Measures H, I
With Santa Barbara Junior High School as the backdrop, supporters say the parcel taxes would ensure students receive a well-rounded education.
Supporters of Measures H and I, two initiatives on Tuesday’s ballot that would dedicate money to music, theater and foreign language in schools, held a news conference Wednesday to urge residents to vote yes.
Standing in front of Santa Barbara Junior High School, the supporters said the initiatives are vital for ensuring that students receive a well-rounded education, especially in light of a brewing storm at the state level that could result in more draconian cuts to local schools.
Measure H pertains to residents living within the seventh-through-12th grade district, or secondary district, which stretches from Goleta to Montecito. At $23 annually per parcel, it would bring more music and foreign language to the schools, as well as restore the small class sizes in ninth-grade math that recently were eliminated in a round of budget cuts by the school board.
Measure I pertains only to those living in the elementary district, which exists within the boundaries of the city of Santa Barbara. At $27 annually per parcel, it would allow the district to expand its music program to include grades kindergarten through third grade.
Those in attendance on Wednesday included Rod Lathim, a local filmmaker who said he has benefited tremendously from the kind of arts curriculum that Measures H and I would provide.
“I’m a product of Santa Barbara public schools, and I really can say that I owe a huge debt of gratitude to teachers I had,” he said. “Someone said to me the other day, ‘Why should I vote for this measure? I don’t have any kids. Why bother?’ And I said, ‘Please, this is a no-brainer.’ I don’t have kids either. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see our youth of today not go on and be strong leaders.”
Also speaking in favor of the measures was League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara President Linda Phillips, who happens to be the mother of Glen Phillips, a San Marcos High graduate and the leader of the famous rock band Toad The Wet Sprocket.
“When my children were in the high school here … they profited from all of the programs that this supports,” she said. “This will affect your children, your grandchildren, your neighbors’ children and the people who take care of you.”
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Chairman Salud Carbajal said that as a father of an 8-year-old at Roosevelt Elementary, he has a stake in helping get the measures passed, especially in light of how California’s schools are among the worst funded in the nation.
“We ought to be ashamed of that,” he said. “We need to change it.”
The only organized opponents to Measure H are a group of five neighbors who live near Dos Pueblos High. Measure I has no organized opposition.
Led by Goleta resident Rich Foster, the Measure H opponents argue that the district was not a good steward of the tax dollars gathered for a facilities bond passed in 2000. For instance, he said, the district dedicated far less money than promised to building new classrooms and, in Foster’s view, too much money into athletic facilities, such as new swimming pools at each of the three high schools.
Lynn Rodriguez, a board member of the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, which is spearheading the campaign, has countered that Foster fails to mention that the district was blindsided by a lawsuit that exposed its deficiencies in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a result, she said, the district spent far more bond money than was anticipated on bringing the district into compliance.
Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at .
» wrote on 10/30/08 @ 07:28 AM
No more taxes--Please
» wrote on 10/30/08 @ 09:06 AM
Please, everyone--vote YES on both measures! It is an issue of local control! Why should we let the state tell Santa Barbara how good its schools should be? When our property taxes directly funded our local schools (pre-Prop 13) we had the best schools in the state. Fund our schools! Vote YES on Measures H and I!
» wrote on 10/30/08 @ 09:49 AM
As much as I agree with having these programs in our schools, I’m not sure taxing everyone more is the way to go. California residents already pay some of the highest taxes in the country and we keep coming up with more ways to add to them. Other states seem to be able to keep programs in their schools, roads in good condition and public lands from being turned into another overdeveloped, expensive subdivided community. What are we missing here? I’ll have to vote no on these measures.
» wrote on 10/30/08 @ 12:10 PM
$1.2 million divide by six schools plus charter schools, divided by nine areas of emphasisis. Do the math! This is less than $26,000 dollars per program. How many math classes can you reduce with $26K.
In June one board member suggested that this could free up m,oney for the general fund. How can you free up money by raisibng money for currently unfunded programs? You can only do that by robbing Peter to pay Paul. With creative bookkeeping you have no idea where your money will end up.
This district has a solid track record of promising more than it can deliver and then delivering something that was never promised.
If these are critical programs then why are they the last thing to be funded by the district? Either the districts priorities are messed up or they are lying to the public. Much the same way they told the teachers they were broke until after the contracts were signed, then they discovered missing millions.
If you support schools then write a check to the program of your choice. If you like theatre give to the drama department, if you like music donate to music. Heck if you support fat administrative salaries for marginal performences then write a check to the general fund.
I personally plan to donate to the engineering building at Dos Pueblos, because 1 I know how my money will be used. 2 It will support excellence in education and an academic area where America currently lags, and 3 It will stop the board from using my money to somehow free up money in the general fund.
Vote No on H until we see responsibile and reliable fiscal practice from this district.
» wrote on 10/31/08 @ 09:03 AM
The reason other states have better roads? THEY HAVE A HIGHER GAS TAX! Check it out--you only get what you pay for in this world! And that includes schools!
» wrote on 11/03/08 @ 03:02 PM
To Opinone, the issue is that we are already paying the tax now, the state just does not sent it back for us to use in our schools. We spend about $9.5K per student per year on a state wide basis, but we spend $35K per inmate/parolee per year. You tell me what is more important? We need local control of our local tax dollars as the state’s spending is unacceptable. That is why H and I are so important, they restore local control over our local tax dollars. And it’s only $23 and $27/year.