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Local schools in Menlo Park, Woodside and East Palo Alto have placed ballot measures for the Nov. 5 election to fund for facilities updates and educational programs. Each campaign committee has filed its campaign finance reports for the period, from July 1 to Sept. 21 with collected contributions and spendings on the campaign.
Menlo Park City School District: Measure U
Over 70 local community residents contributed to the Menlo Park City School District’s Yes on Measure U campaign raising a total of $78,420 from July 1 through Sept. 21. Measure U is a $123.6 million bond measure that will fund facilities improvement projects across Encinal School, Laurel Elementary School, Oak Knoll Elementary School and Hillview Middle School.
The highest contribution of $15,000 comes from Cumming Management Group, a project management company and the district’s contractor for the bond. The Hillview PTO donated $10,000 and CAW Architects in Palo Alto donated $5,000. CAW Architects has worked on the designs for Corte Madera School in Portola Valley and La Entrada Middle School in Menlo Park.
Other contributions of $5,000 come from Robert McGrew, chief research officer at OpenAI and Mark Murray, principal at Lane Partners, a real estate company in Menlo Park.
Majority of contributions are from local community members ranging from $100 to $2,500.
The committee spent $24,829 on campaign consultants, payment processing fees, photoshoots and advertisement productions.
Measure U will need a 55% majority for approval.
Woodside Elementary School District: Measure Y
YES on Measure Y for Woodside Elementary School has raised $20,000 from the Woodside School Foundation, which raises money to supplement the budget at the school during the period. Measure Y will be placed on the November ballot to renew the current tax rate of $366.66 per parcel for 12 years. The current parcel tax will expire on June 30, 2025.
Measure Y will continue to fund quality school programs and teacher salaries. Woodside residents of 65 years and older will be exempt from the parcel tax.
No other contributions were made to the campaign from July 1 to Sept. 21.
To pass, Measure Y will need a two-thirds voter approval.
Ravenswood City School District: Measure S
Measure S for Ravenswood City School District raised $99 from July 1 to Sept. 21 and anticipate an additional $2,000 from community members, said Karen Pace, director of Ravenswood Early Childhood Collaborative. Pace contributed $99 to open the account for the campaign.
The measure will increase the current parcel tax from $223.90 per parcel to $434 per parcel for another eight years.Â
Measure S will fund the expansion of affordable preschool and early childhood education, living wages for educators, instruction for elementary and middle school students, facilities for early education programs and helping low-income families afford child care.
Measure S is estimated to raise $2.7 million each year. The tax amount is subject to inflation adjustments but not to exceed 3% and will be implemented on July 1, 2026 and end on June 30, 2034.
Measure S will need a two-thirds voter approval to pass.
