For many, good schools reflect a vibrant community. A modern community. Voters in District 1 of the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District will decide on June 3 if they want to bring schools built in the Eisenhower era when students’ tools included pencil, paper and a manual typewriter into the 21st century. Plunk plunk.
Measure L is a facilities improvement bond that will provide funds ($93 million) to refurbish and update Truckee Elementary and Truckee High School plus finish the conversion of Sierra Mountain as a future elementary school.
According to the proponents of the measure, voting yes doesn’t actually raise the tax rate. Currently property owners are paying taxes of $34 per $100,000 assessed value. Voting yes for Measure L will bring the rate to $48 per $100,000 assessed value – the amount originally passed as the Measure C bond in 1999. Measure L also extends the tax to 2025.
A similar measure was passed for the North Lake Tahoe schools in November 2002, resulting in a tax of $60 per $100,000 assessed value for that part of the district. The technically savvy North Lake High School is a model for what the school district and some parents would like to see in Truckee.
‘Our facilities need to reflect the modern age,’ says Phebe Bell, Chair of the Vote Yes on Measure L. ‘We want our kids to have the skill sets to survive and thrive in the 21st Century. Technology needs to be embedded into education. As a community, we’ll pass this bond.’
Some members of the Truckee community are not so sure about the continued rise of taxes. Property owners have watched their property tax increase over the past couple of years due to special assessments bonds and measures. ‘I voted yes on Measure C, but I will vote no for Measure L,’ says Alison Bermant, a Truckee property owner. ‘As someone who doesn’t have children, I think that people with children should be the ones that pay for public schools.’
John Britto, Director of Facilities for Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, agrees that this is not an ideal time for more taxes; in fact, the timing couldn’t be in a worse year. However, state law requires that the measure be on the ballot in an even-year general election. If the measure weren’t on the ballot this year, the school district would have to wait until 2010 and face the same projects, with increased costs. ‘Measure L will enable us to provide programs for the future, not just the things we need to do right now,’ he said. Britto explained that the measure will not only focus on the cosmetic updating of classrooms and exteriors, but will also invest in things that no one sees, such as updating heating systems and addressing snow load issues on buildings nearly 60 years old. ‘Currently the old high school gym has a very low snow load level, so crews need to shovel the roof constantly during the winter.’
Most of the construction will be at Truckee High School. A tour through the school shows the outdated versus the newly refurbished sections paid through Measure C. In the older section, I could almost detect a waft of the students that had passed through these rooms from the 1950s, ‘70s, ‘90s…and so on. The difference between the refurbished science lab and the classroom that reflected my own high school experience in the ‘70s was night and day. Literally, with the first room it was light and bright. The second room was windowless, drab, with limited counter space, the standard television on the cart in the corner. It was hard to imagine this room was in the same era as broadband, 3-D PowerPoint and multimedia technology.
Bringing the 21st century into this high school classroom is only part of what Measure L hopes to accomplish. Phebe Bell believes that passing the measure is in the best interest of the community and the schools – investing into the future of its children.
Election Day, June 3 at MoonshineInk.com
With all the hubbub about the General Election in November, the upcoming June 3 election has garnered little attention. However, it holds important outcomes for our local governments.
Outgoing 4th District Congressional Representative John Doolittle has left space for new blood. Both Nevada and Placer County Boards of Supervisors have seats up for grabs (though Truckee’s sweetheart Ted Owens is running unopposed in
Nevada County, District 5). Measure L (see story above) is on this ballot for those affected.
In the weeks leading up to the election, Moonshine Ink will be posting online stories about several key races in our area. Stay tuned, stay informed, be sure and check out MoonshineInk.com.
