4 short months ago, the Menlo Park school district, crying in its beer, over all the budget deficits it was facing, decided to . . . give everyone, staff and teachers, everyone, a raise.

I have a suggestion. Let's give everyone in the school district a nice salary raise, while we sit and try to figure out how to balance the budget. YOU CAN NOT BE SERIOUS! If you want to be serious, stop acting like clowns. Every day the school district news literally reads like headlines from the Onion. I understand that sometimes life imitates art, but the Onion? Really, School Board, please do better. Don't give everyone in the district a raise and then cry Po Boy. Face palm.

Now 9 months after being overwhelmingly rejected, they are at it again requesting that we all forget about the PAY RAISE in the face of BUDGET DEFICITS, and assuring us that if we only pass this NEW Parcel tax, they absolutely promise it will go to classes and the students, NOT the teachers and staff. YEAH RIGHT! They are also sneaking it in again in an off cycle election. Hey, why wasn't it on the ballot this November? Could it be that it would have been overwhelmingly rejected again?

Please do not fall for any of this nonsense from the morally bankrupt school distict. The citizens of the district told you to live within your means. To stop lining your retirement and pension funds, to stop giving yourselves pay raises and to start chopping staff positions and advocating for a platinum school program when the gold standard is more than adequate.

Send the message next month. Send these guys packing. Don't worry. They will be back next year, with another plea for "mo money". Its what they do.

NO MORE MONEY. LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS. Geeze.

Ah The Onion. Always a good laugh!

Thank you, Barbara, for your continued excellent coverage of our district. For those of you seeking to learn more about why Measure X is on the ballot and the funds are needed, I encourage you to check out the school district's FAQs about the situation.... Web Link

Our district is thriving but growing, and the current flow of funds are not enough to keep up. See the "Crunching the Numbers" Guest Opinion from a few weeks back if you want to understand more about why.... Web Link

I get it! We all instinctively react to "taxes" in a negative way. But this situation is real, and as Assistant Superintendent Erik Burmeister has said, without Measure X, “our district would have to make such deep cuts that it would become unrecognizable."

Measure X is a win for our children, our schools, and our entire community, and all for the bargain cost of about 50 cents/day above what property owners (yes, I am one) currently pay. YES ON X!

And, if you vote NO and Measure X fails, that's a DOLLAR a day in your pocket.

Still, you'll have 2 DOLLARS coming out of your other pocket for MPCSD.

"4 short months ago, the Menlo Park school district, crying in its beer, over all the budget deficits it was facing, decided to . . . give everyone, staff and teachers, everyone, a raise."

Yes, and that was a proactive raise for the previous school year, which the district has done for the last several years. Both unions agreed to stop this practice moving forward, and in in order to achieve this they agreed to a 0% raise for the current school year.

There will always be anti-tax, anti-public school activists in the world (and a few that are quite active on this forum). I want accountability and transparency but I also believe in the importance of public schools. I'm satisfied and happy to vote for the parcel tax this time around.
Thanks Almanac for your thorough coverage of this issue.

The larger issue behind all of these tax increases, bond issues,etc. is the continuation of funding a governmental employee pension system that is financially not sustainable. Let's get to the heart of the problem, fix the pension. Most elected officials will not take on this cancer for fear of losing the labor vote. Get some courage and fix the real issue!

The good news is that (I think) the parcel tax will pass.

The bad news is:
1 - much of the proceeds will be spent on salary and benefit increases
2 - programs will still be cut
3 - nothing will be done to reduce the district's existing pension liabilities

Ron, I couldn't agree with you more! Measure X is critical to our community precisely because of the broken system. Let's not let the reality of the broken pension system and a need to fix it lead to a decision to let our children, schools, and community suffer in the mean time. YES ON X!

Continued support of our local schools is important to our community. I'm voting YES on Measure X.

Here's a link to FAQs on allocation: Web Link

I agree with Peter. This measure will and SHOULD pass. This measure buys the district some breathing room verse the severe cuts that would be required. HOWEVER..., the district needs to grapple with a out of control pension system that will put tremendous pressure not only on MPCSD but all CA schools. Nice article in today's (2/9) Daily Post by Emily Mibach highlighting how the pension burden is going to surpass the $2.8m/yr measure X revenue in three years.

I understand that individual districts do not have direct control over the state pension system (so PLEASE no comments back to that point) but with enough public outcry, the legislators will eventually listen to voters over the unions.

The Board's of Directors of California's School Districts can and should petition the legislature to pursue across-the-board reduction in benefits to the extent necessary to eliminate the unfunded liability. Those with pension plans in the private sector saw their retirement benefits drastically reduced by the 2008 financial meltdown. Public employees must accept their fair share. Defined benefit plans should be replaced by 401k type plans.

Question: Why should a district which took on $114,100,000 in construction bond debt, and turned it into the current $131,000,000 debt, be rewarded by an increase in parcel taxes to $1,078 per year?

"Because the district has three other parcel taxes (with no expiration dates) total annual parcel tax revenue going to the district would be $1,078 per parcel, plus this year's increase in the Bay Area consumer price index. All the parcel taxes appear as one on the property tax bill."

Vote NO on Measure X, and let the parcel taxes drop to $675 per year.