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Early election results show Measure S, a smaller parcel tax measure for the Portola Valley School District, is receiving the number of votes needed to pass.
By the close of election night on Tuesday, May 4, 75.3% of voters have said yes to the measure, which requires a two-thirds, or 67% voter majority, county election officials reported. Measure S was the only item on San Mateo County’s all-mail ballot May 4 special election. The district is asking for less money this time around: $471 per parcel annually versus the current rate of $581. It would raise $997,000 annually for the district. It has an eight-year term and would expire in 2029.
Semi-official election results at 8:10 p.m. on election night show Measure S with 1,743 votes of support and 573 no votes (24.7%). Just two of these votes were turned in at Voter Centers; the rest were mailed to the Elections Office.
District officials are asking taxpayers for less because the district has made $1.3 million in cuts over the last three years, said district Chief Business Officer Connie Ngo. The district saved money by eliminating an assistant principal position at Corte Madera School; eliminating a district office classified staff position; freezing the hiring of the director of learning and innovation; eliminating 30 telephone lines; and reducing its workforce by seven teachers and classified staff positions through attrition, Ngo said.
Voters failed to renew the soon-to-expire tax, Measure O, last March.
Measure O expires in June and raises about $1.2 million annually for the district. It funds advanced math, science and technology, reading, writing, art and music programs; reduced class sizes; and retention of teachers for the district’s two schools, Ormondale and Corte Madera, according to the district website. The tax also covers 17% of district teachers’ salaries, according to the ballot measure.
Measure O passed in 2013 with 69% of the vote. It consolidated two expiring measures: Measure C (with an annual tax of $290 per parcel) and Measure D ($168 per parcel), and increased the rate by $123 per parcel to $581, Ngo said.
All voters who live within the school district boundaries, which go beyond those of the town of Portola Valley, can vote on the bond measure. The district includes Woodside residents who live in the Skylonda and Skywood Acres neighborhoods and off Philips and Family Farm roads, and part of Mountain Home Road.
The next results will be released on Friday, May 7, at 4:30 p.m., according to the San Mateo County Elections Office. The Election Office plans to certify the results on June 3.
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This was a tough one for me. I still have one child at Corte Madera. I helped launch the budget committee in the aftermath of the Henratty mess, and spent years volunteering at the schools, even coaching the soccer team one year.
On the one hand, the infrastructure needs work and I’m a big supporter of education. On the other hand Dr Davenport is a truly innovative and compelling teacher who HAD taught social studies and was removed from this role. I have no idea why. For both of my kids he lit the fire of engagement and a passion for learning. Denise White was also given tenure despite the fact that the way she runs her classroom was appalling, with me, and several other parents, having issues with her style and closed minded authoritarianism.
It was very hard to justify a yes vote for a parcel tax in the face of these horrible personnel decisions.
I truly hope that the district uses the money wisely. Yes, PVSD is a good district, but I can’t help but feel.it could be so much more.
WTF! Stop with the incessant taxation! Remember the Hanretty case? Besides, you stupid woke parents, don’t you realize that UC is under 25% white now. You will need every dollar to pay for exorbitant private colleges…