We love our kitchens, but do we love our schools? A new poll…
Kitchens Are King…
At least that’s what the results of the latest poll on the White Oaks Blog indicate. We definitely love our kitchens…and why not? It’s where today’s busy family spends most of its time, and it’s also where we tend to gather when we’re entertaining. Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote in this poll on this question:
“If you had $100,000 to spend on remodeling your home, which 2 projects would you do?”
And here were the results:
* Kitchen (65.0%, 47 Votes)
* Add a bedroom or more square footage to the house. (28.0%, 20 Votes)
* Landscaping (25.0%, 18 Votes)
* Master Bedroom Suite (24.0%, 17 Votes)
* Add/Modify a Bathroom (24.0%, 17 Votes)
* Solar Panels (14.0%, 10 Votes)
* Pool (7.0%, 5 Votes)
* Garage (1.0%, 1 Votes)
* None of the above (email me your suggestion, and I’ll add it) (1.0%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 72
Time for a New Poll….Measure B
OK, we’re going for the community lightning rod on this poll: The School Parcel Tax. If you recall from my previous post on this subject, The City of San Carlos is taking another run at a parcel tax to close the huge gap in the San Carlos School District budget. This $78 annual assessment is now officially known as “Measure B.”
Ballots should be arriving in your mailbox in the next few weeks…So here’s the question for the new poll:
How are you going to vote on Measure B?
Look for the poll in the upper-left hand corner of the blog, and vote today. And if you’re really passionate about this subject, leave a comment below.
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No. I won’t vote for this bond for several reasons:
1. A bond for maintanace passed a few years ago, but where did my money go? Almost all of the SC schools are eyesores! Talk about a reduction in my property values!!
2. Only 52% of the families that use the schools contribute to the KidFund. That is terrible. That number should be closer to 90%
3. Now is not the time to saddle people with more taxes. The economy is terrible!
4. We just voted on this….can you give it a rest for at least one year?
Yes, I will vote for measure B. It is becoming more apparent that public school funding throughout the state will need to be supplemented by local taxes which the state can’t divert for other projects. If you look around California you will find that the towns with the highest real estate values are the towns that have great public schools and these towns have passed local tax measures to help pay for the operation of their schools. If we want to protect our property values and keep the family friendly town we are fortunate enough to live in we will have to protect our schools from the massive cuts that are looming.
Luckily the bond measure passed a couple of years ago added classrooms and upgrades to every school in the district. That money was for infrastructure work and was spent on badly needed physical upgrades to all seven schools in our district.
This new measure B is to replace some of the money the state is taking away from this year’s budget (2008-2009) and will continue to fund the schools in the near future where the state has made even larger school budget cuts. This measure isn’t proposed to add programs; this measure is proposed to keep our school libraries open, to keep our PE teachers, our music teachers, our literacy specialists and our classroom sizes manageable. This money is for basic things that most of us can’t imagine any school existing without.
Please support measure B for the future of our schools and to protect our real estate values down the road.
Still voting no on principle. As much as it distresses me to see all the yes on B signs dotting lawns all over San Carlos, this measure is unfair.
As long as senior citizens who are financially able to absorb the $78 are being exempted to pander for their “yes” vote, I will vote no. Why not exempt childless couples, parents with children in private schools, people who simply cannot afford the extra taxes, etc so we can get even more yes votes (in theory)? If they are not going to have to pay for it, they should not be able to vote either way!!
Plus this is no guarantee that our doors will not soon be knocked on again for more money for who knows what next? We all just need to weather this down economy and realize that there will be lost luxuries. We will get them back (it’s government, they always find a way into our pockets).
When the healthy economy does return, perhaps lessons will finally be learned and schools and public service administrators will finally operate within their means (I can dream can’t I?).