About the parcel tax for the school,one if the reasons why it did not pass the first time a year ago was that it did not set a time limit! I do not think six years is enough maybe it should be ten or fifteen but at least it is a start. Having no timie limit at all does not consider that they may be fewer kids sometime in the future. When I arrived in Menlo Park 21 years ago there were brewer children.

What has changed in the way the school district conducts its financial operations other than its in the same place as it was when it asked for a parcel tax?

So this school district will ask for an increase, then the high school district will, then the community college district will and so on. This is a terrible way to fund education. And let's not forget the ERAF [CA's attempt to fund education because of a deficit that still exists](Web Link Maybe surgery is needed instead of continuing to use band aids.

Let's fix school funding instead of doing it piece meal. Maybe the people in Sacramento could focus their next session on this issue if enough schools throughout the state advocated for a change.

@Bob, the real problem is prop 13. Without more realistic property valuations, you end up with this piecemeal mess.

Unfortunately, the boomers will not give up the huge subsidy the rest of us are effectively paying them.

Prop.13 added predictability to revenue flowing into the districts from property taxes. They should have budgeted accordingly. Inflated salaries and grandiose facilities encouraged by generous grants from the MPAEF have resulted in the pension related budget problem, and increased property taxes to service debt on facility bonds.

There are some homeowners who will find it painful to fork over $1,017 in parcel taxes in addition to the general tax and tax collected to service the debt on bonds. The owner of a home appraised at $500,000 can expect a total education tax bill of more than $3,500 if the parcel tax passes. That's MORE than enough!
And that does NOT include the state taxes used to fund "on-behalf" payments to service bonds sold to provide "matching" funds, and to bail out the pension funds.