Office of the Superintendent
(415) 945-3720

SAMPLE LETTER TO KEY CONTACTS (addresses at right)

You should be able to highlight the text of this letter and the representatives’ addresses in your browser, then copy and paste into your favorite email or word processing program. If you prefer, you can download an rtf (5k Rich Text Format) cross-platform file that can be opened by most word processing programs. You may want to include some of the “talking points” from Dr. Levinson’s memo.

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Dear (Governor Davis, Senator Burton, Assemblyman Nation):

I am a resident [parent, teacher, student] of the Tamalpais Union High School District in Marin County, one of the state’s sixty basic aid districts. I’m writing to oppose the Governor’s proposal to capture 85% of my district’s local property tax as a means of balancing the state budget.

If the 85% property tax proposal is implemented, our district will experience a loss of $6,500,000 out of a budget of $35,000,000. This 18.6% reduction will have catastrophic consequences for our students as our district would have to eliminate as many as 83 positions, raise class sizes and eliminate numerous essential programs and services. No revenue limit district in California is being asked to sustain such an extreme loss of revenue and program.

Local property tax revenues have always stayed at home and have always directly supported our local school district. Local property tax dollars need to remain in the community from which the revenue is generated.

As a [voter, parent, staff member, student] in the Tamalpais Union High School District, I ask you to oppose this measure as it places a disproportionate burden on our students, staff and community to resolve the state’s fiscal problems.

Sincerely,

MORE from the Superintendent’s Office on the fiscal crisis:

Budget info (14-Feb-2003)
- Letter to staff, parents & community
- Parent/Student/Community Resident Response form
- Basic Aid Backgrounder: Letter from Bolinas-Stinson Union School District Trustee

MORE fiscal crisis info (29-Jan-2003)
- Letter to staff, parents & community
- Talking points
>> Sample letter (cut/paste)
>> Sample letter (rtf download)

ALL fiscal crisis info…

KEY CONTACTS IN SACRAMENTO
These are the telephone, fax and mailing addresses of key officials. Faxed or US-mailed LETTERS rather than emails are preferred.

Governor Gray Davis
c/o Michael Bustamante, Deputy Chief of Staff
State Capitol Bldg.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-445-4633

Secretary for Education Kerry Mazzoni
Office of the Secretary for Education
1121 L Street, Suite 600
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-323-0611
Fax: 916-323-3753

Senator John Burton
State Capitol Bldg., Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-445-1412
Fax: 916-445-4722

Assemblyman Joe Nation
State Capitol, Room 3013
Sacramento, CA 95814
Ph: 916-319-2006
Fax: 916-319-2106

Email addresses (note that faxed or US-mailed letters are preferred):
Governor Davis: governor@governor.ca.gov
Joe Nation: joe.nation@asm.ca.gov
Senator Burton’s website: http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/senator/burton/