Parcel tax passes, district breaths sigh of relief

Administrators, teachers, students and parents breathed a collective sigh of relief on May 3 when Measure A, the parcel tax in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District , passed with a 72.59 percent support, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters.

Measure A will implement an annual $49 parcel tax to support both Saratoga and Los Gatos High Schools. The tax is expected to generate $4.8 million over a six-year time span. The money will be used to support core programs and directly benefit the students by helping to keep class sizes small.
In an email to district staff, superintendent Cary Matsuoka told them that they “each played a part in this historic step for our district by [their] support of Measure A, and the work [they] do to make our district such a great place for students.”

“This parcel tax… gives us some much needed breathing room as we look forward to the future.” Matsuoka also said.

The vote was conducted via mail-in ballot. Overall 14,700 votes were cast, with 10,671 people voting for Measure A and 4,029 people voting against it (27.41 percent). The tax needed 66.7 percent to pass.

Although the district’s budget problem have not gone away, many proposed cuts will no longer have to be implemented.

“I think that it’s a great way for our district to ensure that we will have stable funding and I think that it’s a testament to the community that grew behind it,” said junior Anshu Siripurapu, the board representative as well as a student liaison to the “Yes on Measure A” campaign. “I think that it was just a really well-run campaign, and I’m happy that I was a part of it.”

Measure A was the first time that voters in the district have been asked to approve a parcel tax measure for the two high schools.