Atherton meeting on school parcel tax bid Atherton meeting on school parcel tax bid (April 06, 2005)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

For Atherton voters who live in the Redwood City School District, a panel discussion on the Measure V school parcel tax proposal will be held Thursday, April 7, by the Atherton Civic Interest League. The program starts at 7 p.m. at the Pavilion in Atherton's Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave.

Measure V would tax property owners in the Redwood City School District and would cost homeowners $85 a year. The tax would last for five years, and is expected to raise $3.3 million annually. The measure, which must be approved by two-thirds of the voters to pass, is on a special mail-in ballot May 3.

Measure V supporters say the Redwood City district faces $3.5 million in budget cuts next year that will eliminate 57 teaching positions and raise class sizes in kindergarten through third grades from 20 students to 29.

The budget cuts also will eliminate music programs, slice library hours in half, and reduce programs for both gifted and academically struggling students, backers say.

In addition, the budget cuts threaten the future of the International Baccalaureate Program at Selby Lane School in Atherton, which is of particular interest to Atherton residents, said ACIL President Jerry Carlson.

A number of Atherton residents have been involved in the creation of a foundation to help fund academic improvement at Selby Lane, and the International Baccalaureate curriculum is the cornerstone of those efforts, Mr. Carlson said.

Redwood City school board trustees Chris Bohl and Dennis McBride will make the district's case for the parcel tax, and Mr. Carlson said he will discuss the town's efforts to help the under-performing school's efforts to improve academically and attract more Atherton residents.

Seniors age 65 and over may file for an exemption from the tax. Information by proponents is available at yesonMeasureV.org. Ballot arguments and an impartial analysis are available on the county's election site, shapethefuture.org by clicking on the May 3 special election.

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