Orinda passed a resolution increasing their parcel tax from $385 to $509. (Click the pic to read the article.)
The MDUSD parcel tax is for $99 year. This equates to an approximate $7 million in revenue to offset the state cuts, but that is all it will do. It also comes to $8.25 per month or 27 cents a day.
For those of you coffee drinkers who must stop for their designer coffee each morning, do you leave a tip for the barista? I'm sure that it is around 27 cents. If not, could you downsize your coffee from giant to medium or from medium to regular? What you save there is parcel tax money.
In other words, $99 per year is nothing compared to the waste we spend in our average lives. Fast food meals we did not need. Supersized big gulps. Late fees at Blockbuster. You could even save $99 a year by turning off a few light bulbs at home, or better yet, switch to the new energy efficient ones.
How many people wash their bathtowels after coming out the shower? Why? Didn't you get clean in the shower and are now simply drying clean water. Save a laundry load or two. All that recycling you stuff in your blue recycle bins has a cash value. Have the kids bag it up, cans, bottles...redeem the cash.
A reader asked why the MDUSD was not asking for more than $99? The answer is that it seems the public might not be ready to fully invest in the new way of doing business at the district otherwise I am certain that they would want more.
I will email trustee Paul Strange to answer the question of how much more money the MDUSD would get with Orinda's parcel tax, both their old value and their new value - and you can see what programs could be restored. Watch for his response in the comments.
And for those of you who think the parcel tax money goes to pay administrators, or the state; the state cannot touch it and it cannot go to administrator pay. It is also monitored by a citizen panel to be sure that everything is handled properly.
Will the parcel tax cure our woes? No. But it will stem the deep gash that the state brought upon us and allow some programs to be restored that are presently getting cut. For that reason alone, it is worthy of a YES vote. The damage needs to stop before restoration can take place.
And far too many parents still have no clue about this parcel tax, the implications and really need YOU, the reader, to share it with them. Please pass this along. We need to get some movement before the May special election. Time is short and much is riding on the outcome.
And just for the record, I do not work for the MDUSD - I am just a parent in the district. For the last two years I have been one of the critical voices of what was happening. I do believe that we have three strong board majority members and two others who want to get these problems resolved. They need the tools to do so.
With McHenry "gone" things can start to change. But it still comes to parents and teachers standing up and speaking out. And even people in the district boundaries with no children because YOUR property values rest on the strength of this district.
So what are you waiting for? Click HERE to watch Paul Strange on ABC-7 News on a story about the cuts and then make your choice.
Click HERE to get started doing something. Do it now and tell your friends. At the end of this post is a small envelope symbol - use it to email this to your friends and family.
MisterWriter
2 comments:
Even my 15 year old son sees the value in passing the parcel tax. I told him this morning on his way out the door to school about the devastating cuts. He is an athlete and honor student and is devastated about the possibility of not having water polo and swimming and all other sports. He said, stop my gym membership, it is $9 a month and use that to pay the tax. I can't tell you how proud I am of him and we are a definite YES on the parcel tax. We would vote yes no matter what the amount is.
Value your children and vote YES. I just agreed to a sign in front of my home and will Email and talk to all my friends and neighbors. If you love and care about children, then show them you value their education by voting YES.
With Dr. Nicoll at the helm, I am confident that my parcel tax money will be used wisely. I can't imagine these cuts have been easy, not for the people being laid off, or for the Board who is doing their best under very trying circumstances. If we want our children to have a shot at a decent future, we must work together to make it so.
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