City Council Supports Parcel Tax Measure

The Agoura Hills City Council voted unanimously at its meeting Wednesday night to support Measure K, the ballot measure to establish a parcel tax to bolster funding for the Las Virgenes Unified School District. The decision was met with applause from people in attendance.

Although passing the resolution to support Measure K had no legislative impact, the action was seen as an important symbolic gesture of support for the school district as it pushes forward despite deep cuts in funding from other sources.

“We all have endorsed this previously as members of the community, and as individuals, but what we’re doing tonight is taking official action,” said Mayor Pro Tem Dan Kuperberg before he made a motion to pass the resolution. “It gives it a little bit more gravitas ... that it’s not just that we think it’s important as individuals, we think it’s important for the city and for the community.”

Measure K, which will appear on the Nov. 8 election ballot, will place a $95 tax per parcel, per year, for eight years on all properties located within the school district, which serves Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills/West Hills, Bell Canyon and other unincorporated areas.

In order to pass, Measure K requires a two-thirds majority vote. It is expected to bring in $2.2 million per year for in-class programming. That money would go toward teacher and staff salaries, instructional materials and programs that aim to deliver high achievement in core subjects.

The council members took turns to voice support for the measure, underscoring their respect for the school district and the fact that many people move to this area because of the high quality of schools.

They also said that investing in education would keep home values high in the area.

With cuts in education coming from the state, school districts have been losing momentum, and in some cases, falling into conflict. Administrators and teachers agree that the Las Virgenes district is unusual in that it continues to move forward, with a sense of collaboration.

District Superintendant Donald Zimring, who spoke at the meeting in support of the resolution, recently returned from a meeting in Sacramento of the California Association for Suburban School Districts.

“We were one of the only districts in the room that wasn’t in the mode of cutting back, reducing and basically going into bunker mentality,” Zimring told Patch after the meeting. “We were the only district in the room that actually added programs this past year. We were one of the only districts that rescinded every single layoff, and that was because of a huge community effort through our Save Our Schools [fundraising] campaign.”

Sandi Pope, co-president of the Las Virgenes Educators Association, also attended the meeting in support of Measure K and said the partnership between educators and district administrators is what makes Las Virgenes different.

“We have districts all around us where teachers are threatening to strike, there are things that are being cut. There’s a lot of anger and animosity,” Pope told Patch. “[In LVUSD], there’s a tremendous amount of trust. There’s a tremendous amount of respect—a tremendous amount of energy that’s put forth to do what’s right for kids. And we’ve chosen to be partners in that effort and not adversaries.”

Jill Gaines, president of the Las Virgenes School Board, agreed. She said this collaboration was evidenced in the phone bank that the district has set up to call community members to advocate for Measure K. At the phone bank, school board officials, administrators, parents, teachers and students sit side by side to spread the message about Measure K. Gaines expressed optimism about its chances for passage.

“Before the board voted to put the measure on the ballot, we did poll the community, and we were right there at the two-thirds mark," she said. "So for the most part, people are very responsive."