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Join Us in Investing in
Alameda’s Children
and in Our Economy and Quality of Life

Ron Matthews Dennis Pagones Margie Sherratt Marie Gilmore Beverly Johnson Kate Pryor Ed Kofman Burny Matthews Michael Robles-

O
President Business Owner Member-Elect Mayor-Elect Mayor Business Owner Lifelong Alamedan Former Police Chief Wong
Alameda Little League Board of Education Tucker’s Ice Cream and Civic Leader

 ur public schools have long
been one of the key features
making Alameda such a
special place to live. The quality of our
schools, the success of local businesses,
and the unique spirit of community
that pervades Alameda are all
interconnected.
All of us have been concerned with
ensuring that students in our schools
can continue to succeed in the face
of serious cuts in state funding. The
question has been how to do that, with
no solutions coming from Sacramento
and current parcel taxes expiring soon.
For the past two months, leaders
of the Alameda Unified School
District, business and community
representatives, and members of the
public have been in an island-wide
conversation about the future of our
schools.
In response to the community’s
feedback, the school board has now
proposed – and we strongly support –
a March 2011 ballot measure asking
for a new parcel tax to fund our
community’s highest priorities for
our public schools.
The proposal assesses residences and
businesses at the same rate, a tested and
conservative approach used successfully
in many communities. It includes
strong provisions for transparency,
accountability, and auditing of the
funds raised by the tax.
Most importantly, it calls for the proceeds to fund
specific programs at specific percentages, based on the
community’s priorities. That means the money goes to:
• small K-3 class sizes
• attracting and retaining excellent teachers
• arts and Advanced Placement coursework
• high school athletics
• counseling and technology
• adult education programs relied upon by our
seniors and others in the community
• and other programs spelled out in the proposal.
The parcel tax proposal doesn’t aim to fund every
possible need. The district’s belt-tightening will have
to continue. It’s a product of hard choices, recognizing
that no proposal is perfect. But it’s reasonable, and it’s
the result of true community dialogue. By supporting it
this March, we will support our schools, our students,
and the entire community of Alameda.

Lil and Norma Marilyn Appezzato Monica Trejo Rabbi Allen B. Rev. Michael Yoshii David Perry, DDS Sharine Thenard, David W. Johnson,
Arnerich Bennett D.D. Business Owner DDS, MS DDS
Resident Orthodontist

Paid for by Alameda Save Our Schools, Seamus Wilmot, Treasurer

909 Marina Village Parkway, #131, Alameda, CA 94501, FPPC # 1332297 WEST ALAMEDA
www.AlamedaSOS.org
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION