By Jeff Hudson
Enterprise staff writer
The Davis Enterprise

The endorsements are piling up for Measure W - the Davis school district's instructional parcel tax on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Backers of the measure now include the Davis City Council. 'It was a unanimous vote,' said Councilman Stephen Souza, who spoke at the Oct. 2 school board meeting. Souza said the council's endorsement reflects 'The major importance of the passage of Measure W. It's very important to our high quality of life that we all enjoy in this community, which can be directly related to the fantastic school system we have.'

At a personal level, Souza added that while he and his wife don't have school-age children, they 'realize that an educated public is important for all of us in our society, so we gladly pay our fair share' to keep the local school system strong.

Measure W proposes a three-year parcel tax that would cost single family homeowners $120 per year. Owners of apartments, duplexes and other multi-unit homes would pay $50 per year. The funds would pay for elementary school music and science programs, school librarians, class-size reduction in some junior high and high school English and math classes, and related programs that have been offered by the Davis school district over recent years. In essence, Measure W would fund the same programs that were restored for the current school year due to the $1.77 million that was raised and donated this spring by the Davis Schools Foundation.

The board of directors of the Davis Chamber of Commerce also voted unanimously to endorse Measure W. The Chamber's newsletter announced that this support 'was based on weighing our positions on education and taxation relative to prudent fiscal management. The Chamber's position is that the local and regional economy strongly depends on a high quality public school system. In addition, the Chamber's view is that, if necessary, taxes should be levied on the people who receive the benefit.'

Chamber board chairman Steve Greenfield added, 'The exceptional quality of Davis public schools clearly benefits homeowners and property owners through increased property values, relative to our neighboring communities. Preserving science, music and foreign language instruction, as well as co-curricular programs such as journalism and debate, is essential to educating and developing the skills of our future workforce and leadership.

'With reduced funding coming from the state (for local school districts), it is essential that the community backfill the Davis school district's budget to preserve the quality of our public schools,' Greenfield said. 'Individuals may have issues with previous district decisions, but I believe that without the parcel tax funds, not only will students suffer, but so will the quality of the community.'

Other organizations endorsing Measure W include the League of Women Voters, the Yolo County Taxpayers Association, and the Davis Firefighters Local 3494, the Davis Democratic Club, and the Yolo County Democratic Central Committee.

Educational groups endorsing Measure W include the Birch Lane Elementary School PTA, the César Chávez Elementary School PTA, the Da Vinci High School Booster Club, the Davis High School Band Boosters, the Davis High School PTA, the Emerson Junior High Band Boosters, the Emerson Junior High PTA, the Frances Harper Junior High PTO, the Harper Junior High Band Boosters, the Holmes Junior High School PTA, the Holmes Junior High Band Boosters, the North Davis Elementary School PTA, the Patwin Elementary School PTA, the Pioneer Elementary School PTA, and the Willett Elementary School PTA.

The New Star Chinese School, a local nonprofit group that leases school district facilities after school for classes, also has endorsed Measure W.

The Davis Teachers Association and the California School Employees Association (Davis Chapter 572) have endorsed Measure W as well.

So has the Davis Schools Foundation, a nonprofit group that raised $1.77 million in donations for the school district earlier this year, heading off the layoff of dozens of teachers, librarians and others. Alan Anderson, who recently became the president of the Davis Schools Foundation, said 'Through Measure W, everyone can participate in a long-term structural solution to the Davis school funding crisis.'

Janet Berry, parent and co-chair of the Measure W campaign, said 'It's encouraging to see so many organizations getting behind our students and Measure W, because we need everyone's help to get the 'Yes on W' vote out on November 4. Unlike many ballot items, the measure requires a 66.7 percent majority to pass. One percentage point less, and our students and our community lose.'

'The endorsement of Measure W by so many organizations will remind voters that Measure W is really an investment,' Berry said. 'It's an investment in our kids, our schools, and our community as a whole.'

Judy Davis, the recently retired principal of North Davis Elementary who serves as the other co-chair of the campaign, said 'Measure W is not about frills. It is about maintaining the basic program that we currently have for our students. Measure W will keep librarians in our school libraries. It will keep a top-notch science program in place for our fourth-, fifth, and sixth-graders.'

Davis added that Measure W also will 'continue our strong music education program, beginning in the fourth grade, and continue smaller class sizes for some secondary English and math courses.'

'For the relatively modest sum of $10 per month, our community can continue its practice of supporting our Davis public schools,' Davis said.

Measure W faces no organized opposition. Thomas Randall Jr., a local activist, filed a ballot argument against the instructional parcel tax, arguing that 'in Davis, the cost of living is already excessively high due to such new taxes' and mentioning 'this excessive and continuous tax-raising frenzy being sought by our local elected officials to gouge the local residents with excessive taxation.'