A Message to the Community

With all the turmoil in the world around us, we want to assure you that our own local schools continue to be safe and productive places for children to learn.The educational environment you provide forthem, with the help of the parcel tax, includes small, nurturing schools and classes, carefully chosen and well-trained teachers, and orderly, well-supervised campuses. We had a smooth opening of school this fall, with 60 more students enrolled than the first day of school lastyear. An unexpected decrease in State funding, coupled with higher energy and salary expenses, meant that we had to make some reductions in classroom aide and instructional supply budgets.

However, we were able to avoid more devastating cuts thanks to our parents and the fundraising efforts of the Los Altos Educational Foundationand local PTA's.The long-range budget picture, however, remains troubling, especially since state funding is so unpredictable. Our educational program is unsurpassed in the state, and we would hate to see it jeopardized.

This year, for the fourth year in a row, our district students received the highest academic test scores in California. Other measures of our success, less visible to the public, include the district's ability to recruit outstanding, experienced teachers and administrators and the consistency of student results from school to school. One key achievement this year was to get the school construction program back on schedule and within budget. When we developed the original program for the bond funds, we did not anticipate high annual increases in construction costs.We rapidly discovered that we needed to re-order our priorities.

We have revised the program and schedule and are now back on track to provide the fundamental health and safety modernization that all of our schools so desperately need.We thank you for your continued support of educational excellence.We are fortunate to live in a community that values education so highly. We will continue to do our best to earn your respect and trust.Margaret H. Gratiot, Superintendent

PARCEL TAX EXPENDITURES · 2000-01 SCHOOL YEAR

Item ............................................Amount.............Impact

Classroom Teachers ..............$1,850,000.............Funded 28 teachers for grades 4­8 to reduce class size from an average of 34 downto an average of 25.

Class Size Reduction ................$460,000.............Supplemented inadequate state funding to ensure all K-3 classrooms had 20 orfewer students.

School Libraries ........................$175,000.............Kept all school libraries open every day.

Music Program ............................$80,000.............Supplemented Los Altos Educational Foundation funds to provide music program ingrades 4­6.

Junior High Program .................$143,000.............Paid for a seventh period at junior highs, providing foreign language, technology, andother electives.

Clean Classrooms .....................$160,000.............Funded four custodians so all classrooms could be cleaned daily.

Textbooks .................................$186,000.............Paid for new math series aligned with State standards, grades 1­6; new literaturebooks grades K­8; supplemental grammar texts and dictionaries (all grades).

Health/Safety/Supervision ........$146,000.............Provided additional supervision of campuses, full time district nurse, emergencysupplies and first aid training.

TOTAL PARCEL TAX INCOME $3,200,000



CACF Review Finances

At its annual 2001 meeting, the Citizens' Advisory Committee for Finance (CACF), an independent committee that provides accountability for parcel tax and district expenditures reviewed the district's budget and financial situation.The Committee recommended the district explore ways to increase funding sources to supplement inadequate andunpredictable state funds in order to continue to offer the same level of education currently provided. "Every year our district, like every other district in thestate, struggles to balance its budget despite state fund-ing formulas that fail to keep pace with the true cost of inflation.

Until this structural problem is resolved, thedistrict is going to need additional local funds if it wantsto continue offering the excellent educational programour children and our community have come to expect,"said CACF Chairman Dick Hasenpflug."One option is toincrease parcel tax revenues, which allow the districtsome local control over its funding."To preserve the quality of education at the currentlevel without cuts to the academic program, the districtis working with the CACF to determine what optionsare viable.

What is the Parcel Tax?

Originally approved in 1989, a special parcel tax assessment was renewed in November 2000 at a rate of $264 per parcel per year. Voters must authorize expenditures of revenues generated by the tax every four years.Citizens 65 years and older can apply annually for an exemption from the tax. Funds from the parcel tax maintain a strong academic program without cuts, support class size reduction, and preserve programs such as basic textbooks, music and libraries.

The district passed a bond measure in 1998 to finance the renovation, construction and modernization of the district's schools. Bond funds can only be used for construction, renovation and the upgrade of facilities, while funds from the parcel tax are used to provide a solid academic program. Both fund sources are necessary to continue to offer the community an exceptional academic program and provide a high-quality educational environment for district students.

Questions

If you have questions or need further information about the parcel tax, please call (650) 941-4010.

Average Revenues Per Student · Santa Clara County Schools

Income from the parcel tax allows the Los Altos School District to rank in the middle third of all school districts in Santa Clara County in per-student funding. Without parcel tax funds, per-student funding in the district would be among the lowest in the County.


(Click on the thumbnail
to view the
Graph of Average Revenues Per Student)



Board of Trustees: Jay Thomas, President · Margot Harrigan · Duane Roberts · Victor Reid, III · David Casas#