Four reasons to vote against school bond





The opponents of Measure R were unable to get their message into the Ventura County voter information pamphlet. But here’s what voters need to know:

•School taxes in Oak Park are already too high. They’re the highest in Ventura County. If Measure R passes, we’ll be paying four taxes in addition to our regular property tax (plus parks, sewers, and others). An average home assessed at $800,000 will have to pay about $2,000 in 2009 in Oak Park school taxes alone. And these taxes don’t decrease if property values go down. We’ll be committed to paying off the school bonds no matter what happens to the national or local economy.

•The $29.4 million price tag has not been justified. We haven’t yet seen a complete, item-by-item list of just what the bonds would pay for. When the list was being prepared for H6 last year, the school board publicly debated which items to leave off, deciding to omit unpopular items. For example, they didn’t tell us that they wanted an “atrium” built for the PreSchool at Oak Hills Elementary. Even if we get a list now for Measure R, we can’t know if the Board is hiding information it thinks may be unpopular.

•We can’t trust the district’s management. The money we’ve committed on C6 is badly managed, much of it spent on travel, administrator salaries and other items unrelated to technology. The district also has trouble managing its regular operations money well. For example, it took $80,000 out of its general fund to support its “all natural” meal program. Money intended for education should be spent more wisely.

•Measure R would overspend on a district with declining enrollment. We must plan strategically for declining enrollment and sustainable schools to avoid paying for improvements our numbers don’t justify. One out of five students in the district doesn’t live in Oak Park, but we are paying for facilities to include their large numbers.

Vote no on Measure R, and let’s ask for a plan that manages the declining enrollment in a truly sustainable way.
Barbara B. Gray
Oak Park Residents for Sustainable Schools


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