We applaud the summertime efforts of Pleasanton school supporters for their enthusiasm and some success in raising money for the school district following last June’s defeat of a proposed four-year, $233-a-year parcel tax proposal. Merchants and restaurants especially deserve congratulations for stepping up to the plate to help with a Save Our Schools carnival that attracted hundreds to an otherwise usually less crowded Saturday night downtown. Many of them also donated 5 percent of their sales during the four hours stores were opened. The night brought in $15,000 to the fundraising efforts of the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education (PPIE) and the Pleasanton Schools Educational Enrichment (PSEE) foundations. That brought the total of the I Love Pleasanton Schools fundraising campaign to $380,000 as of Wednesday, a sizeable amount considering the campaign started June 15, but still a major disappointment given the group’s goal of $2.8 million. The campaign officially ends today and it’s unlikely that much more funding will trickle in by tonight’s deadline.
We supported the proposed parcel tax as a reasonable way to prevent cuts in programs and staff as the Pleasanton district wrestled with a $9.8-million budget deficit in the current fiscal year. With its defeat, several hundred teachers, management personnel and other staff have been terminated and the system’s much heralded class-size reduction program of one teacher for no more than 20 students in kindergarten through third grades and freshmen English and math classes in the high schools will now move to 25:1 when schools open Aug. 25. These cutbacks, along with several unpaid furlough days for administrators, enabled the district to meet its state-mandated balanced budget requirement for fiscal 2009-10, which began July 1. These decisions were made before the gift of $380,000 raised through the ILPS campaign this summer, that included funds from online auctions, pizza and T-shirt sales, a Gear Up for School event at Stoneridge Shopping Center and, of course, last Saturday’s downtown carnival. Those funds will be presented to the Pleasanton school board at its meeting Tuesday.
A major concern going forward is the mounting state budget deficit, now exceeding $26 billion that continues to threaten more reductions in education funding. That could mean another wave of funding cuts in the current fiscal year and in fiscal 2010-11, which could lead to further reductions in state aid throughout the California, including Pleasanton. Class sizes could go up, more programs could be shut down and parents could be asked to contribute even more for the cost of supplies and programs the district has always provided. Just the fees for signing up for freshman football this season will cost $450, with comparable fees for tennis, basketball, band and drama. Hopefully, some of the $380,000 raised in the last two months can go to students who want to participate in these extra-curricular activities but whose parents can’t afford them.
Although there’s been talk of another try at putting a parcel tax on the ballot, it’s unlikely the votes are there for the two-thirds majority needed to pass. The public also is likely “funded out” from the summer-long financial appeals. It’s unlikey the district would generate enough favorable votes on another parcel tax measure with the terms of two school board members–Pat Kernan and Jim Ott–expiring next November and Superintendent John Casey likely to retire soon. These uncertainties in 2010 suggest that it may be time to give school funding campaigns a rest and to reduce costs to meet what’s likely to be less money to operate the Pleasanton school district.
