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# Untitled
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/042903-story-20030429/
- Published: 2003-04-29T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T23:56:23.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Malibu, #archive-import

■ Tough times require tough measures. It’s a fact of life. But no sacrifice seems more justified than that we must make in the name of children. Last fall, Santa Monica and Malibu voters confirmed that fact by voting YES on Measure EE, an annual parcel tax of $300 that would have provided millions for our high quality, but financially strained, Santa Monica/Malibu school district.

Unfortunately, a 61 percent landslide doesn’t quite cut it under the law, which mandates that a parcel tax measure requires two-thirds, or 67 percent, to pass.

Facing continued uncertainty amidst a worsening local and state budget picture, a coalition of parents, business leaders and activist groups have joined forces to push Measure S on the June ballot. This measure represents a slightly more modest $225 parcel tax, with an exemption for seniors.

We should all support Measure S with every ounce of our being.

Ideologically speaking, some voters will always reject any attempted tax or fee increase, however noble the cause. Others may resent that the situation has come to this and convince themselves that a parcel tax wouldn’t have been necessary if persons A, B and C hadn’t screwed up.

But while we should naturally seek efficiencies, cut waste and tighten our belts, we cannot live in denial of these troubled times. While managing a huge financial strain, the school district has already pink-slipped more than 200 teachers. Cutting waste isn’t enough. We’re talking about money in the millions, not tens of thousands. These cuts would be real, my friends. We would see and feel them. And so would our kids.

Is it true that some Santa Monica residents will pay for the parcel tax unevenly, due to the nature of single-family homes serving as one parcel, and multi-unit apartment buildings — with more residents to spread the pain — serving as an equal parcel? Yes.

But what kind of message would we send our kids if we fail to pass this parcel tax? I for one, am not going to look Santa Monica and Malibu students in the eye and say, “sorry, but smaller class sizes, a sufficient number of school days, an appropriate number of textbooks and the overall quality of your education just isn’t worth a couple hundred bucks.”

It is important that Measure S gets your vote on the June ballot and passes overwhelmingly. Please join me in sending a message that our kids are worth it. (Todd Flora is a professional issues manager who has served as state director of the California Clean Money Campaign, a campaign finance reform effort, and the Concord Coalition, a budget watchdog organization. He is a former steering committee member of the Human Rights Watch “Young Advocates,” and a speakers bureau member with Heal the Bay. To respond or to reach Todd, ).

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 29, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042903.pdf?ref=smdp.com)