Covington Elementary School. File photo: Magali Gauthier
Yes to Measure EE – Keep Schools Safe and Strong
All nine LASD Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and the Los Altos Mountain View PTA Council support the EE measure, and we hope others in our community will support us and our families in voting yes on EE. I hope you will pitch in and participate.
Measure EE is a Los Altos School District (LASD) bond measure that funds critical repairs and upgrades to aging facilities. LASD ranks in the top 1% of California schools. All LASD schools are California Distinguished Schools and three are National Blue Ribbon Schools. Our strong school district is the number one reason families are attracted to Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View.
The condition of our facilities does not match the quality of the education we provide. The time has come to repair and upgrade aging facilities. Local funds are needed for basic repairs, such as fixing leaky roofs and windows, as well as upgrades to HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Some facilities are over 25 years old and have deteriorated. Our facilities are inadequate for today’s students, as many lessons are conducted on mobile devices that are past their prime.
As educational programs evolve, facilities must keep pace. For example, because kindergarten is now full-time and transitional kindergarten is on campus, 4- and 5-year-old students have appropriately sized bathrooms rather than aging, one-size-fits-all portable buildings. We need age-appropriate classrooms. Many of their classes are currently occupied.
Like all school bonds, Measure EE includes strict accountability measures. All funds will be managed locally and cannot be accessed by the state or used for administrator salaries. An independent citizen oversight board regularly reviews the district’s use of bond funds, and mandatory annual audits ensure that all funds are used as voters intended and for the specific uses outlined in the bill. We plan to confirm that this is true.
We need to repair and upgrade our buildings, replace aging portable classrooms with permanent classrooms, and provide learning spaces that are safe, convenient, accessible, and appropriate for children, teachers, and staff. .
Please help us keep our schools strong by voting yes for EE.
On behalf of the Los Altos Mountain View PTA Council and LASD PTA:
Abigail Mortimore, Brandon Stroy, Brittany Stevens, Brooke Lopez, Christine Corbett, Herb Marshall, Jenny Peck, Jessica Shambola, Jim Malone, Jocelyn Jackson, Kathy Lyon, Katie Schmidt, Kelly Sanders Law, Laura Gao, Marvin Pena, Pei Pei Yu, Wien Nguyen
We strongly support public schools. Cannot support EE’s $350 million tax bill
We, the undersigned, strongly support public schools. But we cannot support Measure EE’s additional $350 million in taxes.
No new 10th school site is needed. There is no liability or senior exemption for this tax.
In 2014, our community passed Measure N, a $150 million tax intended to resolve the facilities dispute between the Los Alto School District and Bliss Charter Schools and bring improvements to nine existing LASD campuses. rallied to do so.
In 2019, LASD spent $155 million to purchase the 11.7-acre Coles property in Mountain View.
In October 2024, LASD is seeking an additional $350 million in taxes from taxpayers. The site remains as it was in 2019. Nothing has been built, not even a 4-acre shared-use athletic complex that includes track and field, soccer fields, baseball fields and other facilities that were legally contracted to be built by September 30, 2024. do not have.
Additionally, LASD enrollment decreased by 28%, with 1,314 fewer students compared to 2014. LASD currently has excess space on its nine existing campuses to accommodate all 3,361 LASD and 1,000 BCS public school students.
LASD Trustee Ivanovic pointed out that Measure EE does not state that no more than 40% of the bond proceeds will be donated to LASD facilities. I blame the LASD board for not being candid. I encourage others to vote against the bond bill.
LASD: 10th site for sale. Use that tax money to improve the existing campus. Come back in a few years with a properly sized plan. Explain in detail exactly how you intend to spend the money, including responsibilities and consequences if the money is not spent as promised. We are the first to support transparency and responsible planning.
Signed: Kurt Carlson, Courtenay Corrigan (Former Mayor of Los Altos Hills), Michael Ellerin, Brett Ford, Millie Gong, Tony Lima, John Radford (Former Mayor of Los Altos Hills), David Rood, Norma Schroeder , Thomas Yee
Taking responsibility for EE is a wise choice
As a member of the Los Altos School District Bond Oversight Committee, I am confident in supporting Measure EE because of its strong accountability provisions. Measure EE is the responsible repair of aging schools. By law, funds cannot be used for administrator salaries. That means every penny goes directly to benefit students.
Public records, annual audits, and an independent public oversight board ensure transparency and ensure that funds are spent accurately and as promised. Engaged citizens like me are here to ensure that locally managed funds are spent in the right places and for the right reasons. All dollars raised by Measure EE remain in local control and all funds are donated directly to schools.
We have a responsibility to our community to support this measure and demonstrate that our commitment to excellence and accountability is stronger than ever.
Please join me in voting yes for EE to support local students.
– Emily Harris, LASD Bond Oversight Committee, LAEF Board Member
Yes for EE measurements
I have been involved in Los Altos elementary schools as a volunteer for just under 30 years, the last 20 years as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance. What I can tell you is that there is a lot of oversight and accountability in LASD’s finances, both capital and operational.
It’s no secret that the top-notch education at LASD is one of the reasons so many families call this area home. But our schools haven’t been upgraded in nearly 30 years, so it’s time we step up to secure the future of our students. Measure EE provides us with the opportunity to invest in urgent repairs and restore small neighborhood schools that are essential to the identity of our communities.
Plans for Measure EE have been published, but there is a need for more than dollars. Determining spending priorities will be a public process that involves all of us: our parents, neighbors, and other members of the public.
Get involved, invest in your students, and invest in their future. Please vote in favor of EE.
– Curtis Cole, member of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance
I vote “no” on EE measures
Many residents have children and young people attending local schools. Therefore, it is important to create a safe and enriching learning environment for students.
Residents are also growing wary, tired of new proposals that overpromise results in order to collect more taxes. Instead, local school districts like Los Altos SD should do everything possible to use taxpayer dollars wisely, prudently, and efficiently.
Publicly available information shows the district is not properly managing taxpayer dollars, asking for $100 million to build an expensive 10th campus as LASD enrollment declines. There is. Instead, the course of action should be to provide a plan with clear details for upgrading and improving existing schools. Also, given the decline in enrollment, LASD should sell Cole’s property and use the proceeds to pay for improvements and upgrades.
LASD should demonstrate that it is using limited tax dollars creatively and judiciously before asking taxpayers for additional funds that it is unlikely to use wisely.
– Omar Dajani, Los Altos
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