Rowland superintendent comments on parcel tax vote

Rowland Unified Superintendent Maria Ott has released the following comment about

the election returns for the Rowland Unified Special Measure E Parcel Tax. The LA County Registrar reports it did not receive the two-thirds of votes needed to pass. Semi-final tally indicates there
were 51.57% (4,193) votes cast for Yes and 48.43% (3,938) votes for No.
 
 “On
behalf of the Board of Education, I thank our parents, staff and
community members for your hard work on the Measure E effort.  Although
we received a majority of the votes cast, we were far from the
two-thirds needed to pass the measure. 

“The support of our voters
reflects their understanding of the impact of the State’s devastating
reductions to education, especially to the schools in Rowland Unified. 
We will continue to stay focused on the important work of teaching and
learning while implementing unprecedented cuts to our staff and
programs.

“Public education is the hope for a better future in
California and our nation, and it will take the efforts of everyone in
Rowland Unified to stay focused on our mission to realize the potential
of each and every child during this fiscal crisis.”

 
Rowland Unified School District will need to make more than $13 million
in cuts due to the State Budget crises. Programs impacted will include
college preparation classes, counselors, health/safety and security
services, music and art programs and loss of teachers and classified
staff.
 
A team of teachers, classified
staff and administration has been working on a reorganization model for
the District to plan on how to continue to deliver key programs and
services with reduced resources.
 
The
Rowland Unified School District serves 17,500 students at 23
elementary and secondary schools in the communities of Rowland Heights,
Walnut, La Puente, City of Industry, and West Covina.

Rowland Unified loses parcel tax vote

Looks like Measure E has lost in the Rowland Unified School District, according to the semi-final official election results on the Web site of the Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles County.

As of 8 p.m. last night, 4,193 residents voted in favor of the parcel tax, while 3,938 voted against it. That’s 51.57 percent yes and 48.43 percent No. The ballot measure needed 66 percent of the voters in favor of the new tax for the measure to pass.

Meanwhile, the education parcel tax passed easily in La Canada Unified School District. The registrar reported that 4,732 voted Yes, while 1,606 voted No. That’s 74.66 percent in favor the tax that will raise money for the district.