Special Election Today Determines Parcel Tax Renewal For Schools

SANTA CLARA COUNTY - A mail-only special election Tuesday will determine whether a parcel tax to help provide funds for two high schools in Santa Clara County.

About 30,000 ballots were sent in the special election for Measure A, which would renew a $49 annual tax for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.

As of Friday, officials with the county voters' office said they haven't received more than 20,000 of the ballots that were sent out about a month ago.

If passed, the tax would last for eight years beginning July 1, 2017, according to an analysis of the measure by Deputy County Counsel Danielle Goldstein.

The tax would help fund the district core academic programs in addition to science, technology, engineering and math classes.

People who are 65 years old or older, benefiting from Supplemental Security Income or receive Social Security Disability Insurance and annually earn no more than 250 percent of 2012 federal poverty guidelines would be exempt from the tax, Goldstein said.

The tax would help attract and retain teachers, fund class materials and provide students with tools to prepare for their college education and career, according to Goldstein.

An independent Citizens' Oversight Committee would be in place to make sure the funds are properly spent, Goldstein said.

The district, made up of Saratoga High School and Los Gatos High School, sees 98 percent of its students go to college and many families move to enroll their children at the institutions, according to a supporting argument filed for the tax.

Proponents of the tax have inaccurately said that state funds will be reduced because Gov. Jerry Brown's 2016-2017 budget summary proposed setting aside $5.4 billion in K-14 education, according to a rebuttal argument submitted on the measure.

A ballot sent by mail will be counted if it was postmarked by Election Day and received by Friday.

Voters can cast their ballots in person from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Registrar of Voters' Office at Building 2 at 1555 Berger Drive in San Jose.

No polling places will be opened on Tuesday, but voters can drop off their ballots.

A list of locations is available online at https://www.sccgov.org/sites/rov/VBM/Pages/ReturningMail.aspx.

-Bay City News, image of Los Gatos High School via wikimedia