Show Me The Money: Measure M Campaign

Wow! I though Measure M was "for the Students". 'Yes on M' has over $60,000 for campaigning, with $50,000 coming from the top 19 contributors. $10,000 donations from an out-of-town architect doing business with PUSD and $10,000 from an out-of-town contractor who builds schools is in-your-face outrageous. The big checks from unions is disappointing, but not surprising. The amount of out-of-town money is crazy.

With big money, there's big temptation for big corruption. Always follow the money.

"Measure M - It's all about Money"

Because the Pleasanton Weekly endorsed Measure M, I informed Embarcadero Media and the Pleasanton Weekly that my family will no longer donate money to the Weekly Holiday Fund. That we will find other worthy, needy people, organizations to which we will be donating our money to.

Likewise my family, friends and neighbors that support no on Measure M will not engage or do business with individuals, organizations, businesses that have donated money in support of measure M.

Michael,
Clearly your money and your right to spend it as you see fit. No criticism of that.

I do hope we don’t go to extremes in our interactions with each other because we disagree on certain items/issues. We have too much of that today in our political arena, good people being labeled 100% one thing because of a position on an item, instead of the culmination of the body of work or stance on a majority of items.

I am renewed and uplifted that many of us are asking questions about costs in this state about where the money goes. Thank you again Kathleen for your courage, persistence, and knowledge in this matter. Again, we as Californians are used as an ATM, and should adopt the attitude of ‘follow the money.’

When you actually go to 35,000 feet and look down at these measures, bonds, and processes that funnel money to the schools all over this state, you would think we could have built a new school in a city every year. The school measure in Dublin, the measure here in Pleasanton, the new Proposition 13 coming onto the ballot, and the California lottery since 1985. Just with the lottery alone, the state brings in 1.7 billion a year for the schools where K-12 gets 80%. Not to mention, as Kathleen has noted, they still have money sitting around from the last bond measure.

Conversations with family and friends that work for the school systems in the tri-valley community have told me about the waste and mismanagement of monies spent. You get a sense that the obligation to be financially responsible with this money doesn’t apply here.

It is almost comparable to the gas taxes over the years that were meant to fix our roads. Now we have the highest gas taxes and gas per gallon in the country, and the worst roads ever. When you are dead last in the education business of this nation, why are we spending more and more money in an endeavor that doesn’t reap profits?

Our kids are not getting rich by these measures, the donors are.