As parcel tax election nears, LCUSD campaign volunteers make the rounds
The La Cañada Unified School District community is looking to the March 3 election to see whether voters will approve extending indefinitely a $450-per-parcel tax, currently set to expire in 2021, in support of local school instruction and programs.
With election day less than two months away — and just weeks before citizens will begin voting by mail — volunteers with the Measure LC citizens campaign are taking to the phones to inform LCUSD voters about the need to extend a parcel tax that brings in an annual $2.6 million for local schools and instruction.
A two-thirds vote is required for passage.
“It’s important to mobilize early and get the volunteers in here, because we need a lot of people to make this work,” said LCUSD parent Matt Weber, who co-chairs the Committee for La Cañada Schools.
Weber said the citizen-led group, online at yesonlcschools.com, needs help reaching thousands of district voters who may have questions about the tax measure.
During a recent phone banking session at La Cañada’s Compass Realty, 964 Foothill Blvd., about 15 callers armed with talking points and a phone list of voters likely to support Measure LC dived in and got to work.
LCUSD mom Kelly McWilliams is no stranger to phone banking. She made calls to support the current parcel tax, passed in 2014 with 68.16% approval, and again in 2017 to support a $149-million bond to build schools.
“I’ve worked to raise money in all different capacities. But these locally controlled funding sources, to me, are most important,” McWilliams said, relaying how high-performing districts like LCUSD are usually at the bottom of the list for state funds.
“I’m willing to give of my time to help ease the financial burden the state has left us in,” she added.
At a nearby cubicle, La Cañada High School Principal Jim Cartnal left messages and spoke with citizens about how a parcel tax, unlike a bond, funds teacher salaries and school programs.
“Measure LC is vital — this is essential funding, not extra funding,” he said. “If this doesn’t pass, we’re talking about retracting programs at schools, and no one wants that.”
While election rules state LCUSD cannot, as a district, spend resources on campaign activities, several district officials, including Supt. Wendy Sinnette, are volunteering their personal time to phone banking, the principal added.
Weber estimated that with a little more than 13,000 LCUSD voters on the roll and some 6,500 parcels within the district, the campaign is hoping to reach out to at least 4,500 people leading up to Election Day.
“If you can get 10 to 20 extra people to say yes, that’s a difference maker,” he said. “Every phone call we can make is worthwhile.”
For more, visit yesonlcschools.com.
