No new parcel tax

Dear Editor,

I have lived in Pleasanton for over 25 years, our daughter graduating high school and subsequently college. She is now a professional within our community. The educational process has been and continues to be extremely important to us, especially since we now have grandchildren who will soon be attending K-12 in Pleasanton.

Over 60% of the public school funding comes mostly from the state’s income taxes and sales taxes. Since we currently have such a high unemployment rate, our revenues from state income tax have been much less, as well as a decrease in sales tax revenues. This obviously means that we all must tighten our belts and sacrifice

The public schools must live within a reasonable budget just like the rest of our town residents. That means, this is not the time to be focusing on raises for teachers, exorbitant pensions for retirees, class size reduction and programs that
are not essential. Please understand, the majority of the citizenry can not absorb any more tax increases of any kind. We are all strapped to the max, and the public school system needs to understand this unfortunate reality and respond accordingly.  No new parcel taxes.

Lynda Kinsman