Maybe some dot-com benefactor could buy that $43 million, 17,000 sf Italian Villa in Atherton to house all the firefighters, police officers and teachers who can't afford to live anywhere near here anymore.

Maybe Facebook can put in low income housing in proportion to the additional office space they are adding? Their unbridled addition of space and people to the town is creating much of this problem.

The Almanac has steadfastly supported the passage of every project in town that has contributed to this problem. And no surprise, since real estate advertising dominates their revenues. Why run this bleeding hearts cover story now? Does the newspaper not understand the unintended consequences of its own actions, or is there a mote of guilt/responsibility involved?

My kid attends this school and it offers superb education with small class sizes.Out of 3 kids at least my youngest child can enjoy walking or biking to her community school . This is as close as my child can get to enjoy a quality education in a community setting just like what kids in rich neighborhoods do or are destined to have because of their well paid parents and high valued homes. People like us (middle-class) get gentrified to other communities which end our short-lived closenit feelings and turn into absent family time and our family quality of life plummets and long commute hours to affordable communities begin. Kids should grow up with this feeling of living around their school.It should be their right not luxury! 🤔

Good grief! Was there no requirement by the Menlo politicos to have Facebook preserve the community somewhat as it was by providing low income housing and restrictions on development? Even I knew what was coming for real estate in this area.

The low level of community responsiveness to ALL its citizens is appalling and will backfire in one way or another.

As a resident of Belle Haven and a resident born and raised in the bay area. I think it is time that our Council members put a stop to housing that is not affordable by local residents! It is a shame that our children, and educators cannot longer live in the areas they want too. I agree that Facebook and the City of Menlo Park should include affordable housing for all families and not jsut seniors in Menlo Park.. Shame on our City !!

Enough of the City catering to FB !! Their here now take care of the residents and stop selling us out ! We need people at our council meetings. We need teachers, students, teens, parents and residents voicing their concerns NOW !!! NO MORE HIGH RISE

Hey Guys, Not to point out the obvious, but the communities of East Palo Alto and Belle Haven, etc. are low income affordable housing alternatives, except many of the rooms in those homes are being rented out for $1,000/month to Facebook commuters.

As a long time supporter of choice in education I have observed the plight of private alternatives to the government schooling system. There should be a natural continuum of such alternatives from which families can choose.
One need only look at the Menlo Park City School District(MPCSD), which spends ~$14,000/year per student, to understand why that continuum does not exist. If half that $14,000 were provided to the families sending their children to Beechwood at no cost to the taxpayer, those families would have the financial relief they so sorely need.
There have been several proposals made in that direction. Income tax credits, property tax credits, school vouchers, education vouchers, etc.

A common refrain from apologists for the government schooling system is: "Private schools could not accommodate all those newly empowered customers." Hogwash!

The financial empowerment of families to choose education alternatives would give rise to a continuum of alternatives from Beechwood to Sacred Heart to German-American International School and all points in-between. Many could use surplus facilities of school districts such as MPCSD.

Government schools would then be relegated to their proper role as schools of last resort.

I forgot to mention the financial impact which MPCSD's parcel taxes have on low income homeowners and renters. If their latest Measures A and C pass, they will have 5 permanent parcel taxes projected to total >$1400/year per parcel by 2020.

Jack Hickey -- "A common refrain from apologists for the government schooling system is: 'Private schools could not accommodate all those newly empowered customers.' Hogwash!"

And yet, no actual proof for your so-called thesis -- only more rhetoric that ignores the true issues involved.

Same old same old.

No public money for private schools.

That's as insane as taking Social Security money and giving it to the wall street banksters.

Besides - Hickeys vouchers would immediately drive up tuition to private schools, still laving them out of reach.

It's just welfare for those already sending their kids to Menlo.

Referring to tax credits and vouchers for funding education, Hoover said: "It's just welfare for those already sending their kids to Menlo."

Families who are already sending their kids to Menlo, save districts like MPCSD $14,000 for each student not taking up space in their posh facilities. A property tax credit of half that amount, which I have proposed for families who choose and pay for alternative education for their children, could produce a savings of $7,000/year in the cost of tax-funded public education per child.(after compensating for pre-existing students receiving their education outside the government schooling system.)

With my proposal, property tax credits, up to a total of $7,000 per designated child, could be taken by any property taxpayer interested in promoting sources of alternative education. A side benefit would be removing the burden of growing enrollment from districts such as MPCSD, while simultaneously freeing up space in their posh facilities for private school expansion.

Under such a program, families who send their children to Beechwood (Tuition $180 per month) could wind up with a surplus of nearly $5,000 per child. That ought to help with their housing situation. Families who have their children tutored at home could have the full $7,000/child to cover expenses.

There should be a natural continuum of education alternatives.

Give it up. Vouchers will never happen in CA. They couldn't even make it work in Brownbach's Kansas, supposedly the Libertarian Laboratory of the Free Market. Web Link

That's going down the tubes since they took over. The Kochs were going to show everyone how great it would be, till it blew up, as it always does when you get government haters in charge of government.

What could possibly go wrong.




The Great Kansas Tea Party Disaster
Extremist Republicans turned their government into a lab experiment of tax cuts and privatization. And now they may be losing control of one of the reddest states in the nation

I'M A BROWNBACKER

Read more: Web Link

"The governor promised his "pro-growth tax policy" would act "like a shot of adrenaline in the heart of the Kansas economy," but, instead, state revenues plummeted by nearly $700 million in a single fiscal year, both Moody's and Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's credit rating, and job growth sagged behind all four of Kansas' neighbors. Brownback wound up nixing a planned sales-tax cut to make up for some of the shortfall, but not before he'd enacted what his opponents call the largest cuts in education spending in the history of Kansas."


I'M A BROWNBACKER


Read more: Web Link

Never has Libertarian voodoo worked. Same bs as Trickle Down. We all know what trickles down.

Don't tax low income property owners more to support a bloated Menlo Park City School District. See:Web Link
Vote NO on Measures A and C.

low income property owners? What's that? Someone who bought 30 years ago, paid off their property and has ultra low property taxes due to Prop 13?

Their property value has shot through the roof over 30 years, yet they pay next to nothing compared to the guy who just bought next door.

Prop 13 is good, but does the Get Out of Jail Free card get to cover everything that contributed to their massive windfall in property values, like the education systems that everyone craves to be part of in MP/A?.

"low income property owners"

Now you're just being selfish about your huge win. Support the community that made you.

After having been evicted from facilities leased for many years from the Menlo Park City School District, The German American International School has new digs with room for 400 students and current enrollment of 270. They could absorb a significant number of the projected enrollment which MPCSD uses in an attempt to justify two new parcel taxes(Measures A and C on an all-mail ballot)

@Jack Hickey: Once again, it's a swiiiiiing and a miss...

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Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?