Parcel tax in parents’ sights

GLENDALE — A group of parents who want a parcel tax put on the ballot for Glendale Unified School District has grown from a handful to more than 200 members in a few days, organizers said.

Parents behind Save Our Schools Glendale, or SOS Glendale, will meet with school board members and parent teacher association representatives next week to discuss possible support for an education parcel tax, said the group’s chairman, Edward Bash.

“Our main objective is to get the school board behind getting the initiative on the ballot,” he said. “What we’re saying to them is, ‘If you will put this on the ballot for us, we will supply the manpower and get the votes.’”

The group is less than 2 weeks old, but has made a name in Glendale Unified by distributing fliers at the district’s community information nights.

“We’ve had our website up for about a week,” said Bash, a father of two at Fremont Elementary School. “We’re overwhelmed with the response, and at the same time, we’re very optimistic.”

In Culver City and South Pasadena, where voters approved parcel taxes, supporters carefully polled community members and tied the funds to individual programs like music and athletics.

Glendale Parent Teacher Assn. President Lynn Miyamoto said successful campaigns must be handled deliberatively and cautiously, and added there is room for Save Our Schools Glendale to work with the association.

“Here’s my biggest fear: You roll out something and it gets out there, and it hasn’t been clearly thought out in terms of words and how you articulate [a parcel tax],” she said. “I think we need to have all the stakeholders. It’s not just parent teacher association, it’s the business community — it’s everyone at the table.”

Glendale Unified has not formally pursued a parcel tax, but may approve surveying voters, said Board of Education President Mary Boger.

“The district has not at this time been in a position to ask our community to step forward,” she said. “However, our reserves are almost gone. Next year and the following year, we face enormous budget deficits.”

Save Our Schools Glendale has not formally met with leadership from the Glendale Teachers Assn., which is focused on returning to the negotiating table to finalize a 2009-10 contract, President Tami Carlson said.

“We have not been approached by the district considering a parcel tax, but would certainly sit down and discuss with them anything that would mitigate the serious cuts that are happening in education,” she said.

Bash attributed the group’s speedy rise to the dire situation affecting schoolchildren, where elementary school class sizes will likely see significant increases.

“The problem is not going away, and we feel it’s better to address it now, rather than wait,” he said.

“Right now, people are upset.”