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leasanton Unified School District Cdveoement 1 m cc ~° A Parcel Tax to Benefit the Students of the Pleasanton Unified School District June 2009 On Tuesday, June 2, 2009, voters in the Pleasanton Unified School District will be asked to pass, with the approval of atwo-thirds vote of the electorate, a special tax on property in the district with the purpose of providing quality education programs to more than 14,800 students served by the school district. The proposed parcel tax will require each property owner to contribute $233 per year, with the first payment (one half of the total) due with the November 2009 tax bill. The Pleasanton Unified School District strives to offer ahigh-quality educational program and learning environment to all students in the district. Parcel tax dollars would be used to restore and strengthen the programs now endangered by inadequate and unstable state funding, and all expenditures will be monitored by a citizens' oversight committee. Benefits of the parcel tax: • Keep class sizes small • Provide reading and math intervention and support Maintain quality library services, music programs, and technology instruction • Continue counseling services to assist students with education and social development • Maintain safe and clean schools for our children Ensured responsibility: • An independent citizens' oversight committee will be established to meet quarterly to monitor funds and make sure they are spent properly. • None of the parcel tax funds would be used for administrative salaries. • The parcel tax will expire at the end of the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012. • The state cannot touch one dollar of parcel tax funds; every dollar will stay within our local community. A parcel is defined as any parcel of land that lies wholly or partially within the boundaries of the Pleasanton Unified School District for which the Alameda County Assessor has assigned an assessor's parcel number. Senior or disabled exemption: An exemption from the special tax shall be granted annually by the school district on any parcel owned by any owners 65 years of age or over or owners who receive Supplemental Security Income for a disability, regardless of age, of a parcel used solely for owner-occupied, single-family residential purposes, upon annual application for exemption. The ballot text is as follows: "To preserve educational quality and protect Pleasanton schools from severe state budget cuts, keep class sizes small, maintain essential reading and math support programs, libraries, counselors, technology instruction, music, and safe, clean schools with no proceeds for administrators' salaries, shall the Pleasanton Unified School District be authorized to levy an annual $233 parcel tax for four years, with guaranteed audits, senior and disabled exemptions, an independent citizens' oversight committee and all funds benefitting our Pleasanton students?" Additional information is available on the Pleasanton Unified School District website at www.pleasanton.k12.ca.us. Questions may be directed to publicinfo(a)pleasanton.k12.ca.us or (925)426-4304.